OHSHC: The Demon Awakens!
by spinninground
Summary: Tamaki summons a certain demon lord to help him win Haruhi's heart! When will our Prince realize that what he's been searching for has been next to him all along? TamakixKyoya, KyoyaxTamaki multi-chap fic. Mostly T, with warnings when M. Enjoy!
1. This is our Ouran AU!

_Disclaimer: I do not own Ouran High School Host Club, or any other referenced animes. _

AN: As a reminder, this is Yaoiiii. TamaHaru only exists as much as it existed in the anime. The school year has just begun: the Host Club hasn't formed yet, and Kyoya hasn't been summoned yet. Any other pairings will be served as a light side dish - the primary pairing is KyoTama!

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**Ch. 1: This is our Ouran AU!**

The mushrooms were beginning to take over. Mounds of mushrooms were rooted between his fingers, and twined into his hair. It was time to take action; the situation was becoming completely unmanageable. Tamaki's face contorted as he attempted to regain his typical, beautiful countenance. _Pop._ There.

Once again his radiant self, Tamaki shone so brightly that beams of light parted the mushroom forest he'd cultivated. Giving his trademark flick of the hair combined with a few sparkles and a soft voice, he made his way through the slightly bemused, but thoroughly enthralled student population, and into Music Room #3. He needed a place to sort out his thoughts. Today, he'd met a girl named Haruhi, who seemed to be completely immune to his charms. And to top it off, no one seemed willing to join his Host Club!

He noticed a few mushrooms starting to sprout on his sleeves, and the room starting to close in. Shaking it off, he tried to focus on the positive. He was pretty sure that Hani would cave soon. He'd been tempting the boy with sweets for the past week, and Hani was starting to space out longer in a delirium of desire every time he mentioned cake. And Mori would follow Hani, he was sure of it. Actually, Hani would be billed as Honey in his club, to maximize the adorable factor. He'd also teach him how to create little fluffy pink things out of the space around him; making things appear out of thin air was his specialty, after all, even though he preferred to make flowers to please the ladies. His cultivation of mushrooms was an extension of the same ability, only not as intentional.

But back to the problem: Haruhi. He'd seen her the other day, dressed in horrifyingly drab and shapeless clothing, but instantly identified her. All that stupidity he displayed came in handy sometimes though, and he pretended that he had no idea that she was a commone- _scholarship student_, or even female, as he approached her.

"Hell-o, new student! Welcome to the Ouran School - of beauty!" Glancing sideways at her, he produced twice as many roses as he would normally, and waited in anticipation for her response.

Haruhi's eyes widened beneath her glasses. She really was adorable under that horribly unkempt mop of hair, and the dreadfully unfashionable spectacles. A lunatic was standing before her, producing an unreasonable amount of radiance. "Um, thanks, but I'm looking for Ouran Academy." She continued before Tamaki could correct her. "Excuse me, but I'm going to be late to register." Scooting around the dumbstruck prince, the honor student continued on her way.

Just remembering it was enough to cause a few more mushrooms to sprout from Tamaki's tie. She was the one! He was sure of it. No one had ever been able to see past his devastating beauty to the person within. She was the complete opposite of the superficial princesses that he had been spending his time with, and he was going to be her prince charming! It was more than love, it was love love!

But after a week, he still hadn't managed to get close to her. After all, she was in a lower class, and his time didn't naturally overlap with hers at all, unlike those troublesome twins who wouldn't join his Host Club. If only he could contrive a way to force her to spend time with a bunch of rich, beautiful boys with too much time on their hands!

Putting forth a supreme effort to dispel the growing gloom, he looked around for a distraction. Had that door always been there? It seemed to be calling to him, in a low, spooky voice. _Taamakii. Taaaamakiiii._ Not one to refuse anyone, no matter how spooky, he headed into the unlit room, until he saw a puppet cat, spotlit in the surrounding darkness.

"_Taamakii. Welcome to the Black Magiiic Cluuub. How can I help you today?"_

"Nekozawa? Is that you? I haven't seen you since middle school! Is this what you're doing now?" Tamaki looked around enthusiastically until a hooded figure finally sighed, and stepped into the light. "There you are! You have to help me! You don't know how hard it's been without anyone to talk to, or plot with!"

Not willing to give up on his persona quite yet, Nekozawa tried again. "_Taaamak-"_

"Aw, knock it off, Neko! You know, you could join my club that-I'm-starting-and-be-the-cree-" The stream of words stopped as Tamaki suddenly clutched his head in reaction. "You threw a book at me! A big one! Ow..."

Nekozawa exhaled resignedly. "It contains everything you need. Just take it and go. But remember, now you _owe _me. Don't ruin my act next time!" The lights went out.

- - -_Later that night, at the Suoh estate- - -_

Tamaki finally reached his room. He plunked down on his bed, and reached into his bookbag, retrieving the gilded volume that had dented his skull earlier. The answer to all his problems...

Well, it seemed fairly simple. All he had to do was draw this 'transmutation circle' thing, in a nice big open space (he had plenty of those), and then clap his hands and touch the circle. No equivalent exchange necessary. Wait, under ingredients needed: chalk. What was chalk? He rang for a maid.

"Yes, Master Tamaki?"

"Um, chalk... I mean, I'd like one chalk, please, do you think you could make or find me one?"

Hiding her amusement unsuccessfully, the maid snorted. "I'll bring you one, Master Tamaki. Chalk was used in classrooms before the widespread use of dry erase markers, so it's not exactly an arcane item." In less than a minute, Tamaki was in possession of the white stick.

Ah, so this was chalk. And that was a circle. Preparations complete, Tamaki took a deep breath, raised his hands, and clapped. The circle glowed. _How pretty, _Tamaki thought.

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**AN:** Please review! You don't have to say much, and I'd love to hear from you if you enjoyed it or something.


	2. The Host Club is open for business!

___Disclaimer: I do not own Ouran High School Host Club, or any other referenced animes. _

* * *

**Ch. 2: The Host Club is open for business!**

A gratuitous amount of black feathers were falling from the ceiling. A perfectly normal ceiling, above a vibrant, glowing circle. Tamaki cowered in the corner, a single violet eye peeking through his hair.

"_Who has summoned me?"_

"Um, I'm Tamaki Suoh, and I need a friend to help me with this little project I've been working on..."

The echoing voice continued, as did the shower of feathers. "_Why did you summon me?"_

"Well, there's this girl named Haruhi Fujioka, and I - well, I believe in a thing called LOVE, and I think she's the one that I've been looking for this whole time..." Tamaki was growing bolder, since the situation seemed to be stuck in torrential downpour of feathers mode. If this continued, he'd be able to stuff a new comforter soon.

"_Are you aware of the price?" _The sound of approaching footsteps, accentuated by echoing heels, filled the grandiose room. Something dark seemed to be almost within sight.

Tamaki was really warming to his subject now. "Of course! My soul is nothing to sacrifice in the name of love! What else could you possibly wish for? Love is the ultimate meaning of our existence on this earth, and I am its champion -"

The dark being appeared to hesitate, just before taking the final steps that would bring it into Tamaki's immediate vicinity. "_Yes. of course." _Was that a note of irritation in all that echoing? Hard to tell. "_Will this form suffice?"_ The rain of feathers intensified, forming an opaque curtain as the darkness behind it morphed and shifted, solidifying into human form.

The feathers finally stopped, having coated the ground generously. _At least 3 comforters,_ Tamaki thought. _These feathers are so downy._ A figure stepped towards him from the center of the room.

Silken, straight black hair, framing long, seductive eyes. Delicately rounded shoulders, above slender arms, and elegant fingers. Perfectly shaped breasts that led the gaze to the line of the navel, down to...

"W-Wait! Um, I don't think that's quite right!" Tamaki blurted, surprised by the full frontal nudity presented by the amused demon before him. "I think, maybe- "

"_Ah, I see." _The darkness shifted again, reconfiguring swirls demonic essence until it stabilized for the second time. The same dark eyes, beneath slightly tousled, lustrous locks. A jawline chiseled from the immaculate column of a pale throat, with a body beneath it that was almost identical to his own. Tamaki stared in shock: he'd always thought that his physique was the height of perfection, but to have it verified by a demon lord was an unprecedented compliment.

"Do you find this more to your taste?" A light voice inquired, perfectly modulated between politeness, and a barely detectable mocking tone.

Tamaki tore his gaze back up to the demon's face, and those unsettling gray eyes. He nodded a bit spastically, and seemed at a loss for words.

"Very well. Then from now on, I will be Kyoya Ootori, third son in the line of inheritance for Ootori Enterprises, and second in your class." As he said this, Tamaki's brain was flooded with background information on the Ootoris, as though they had always existed in this world. "I believe you'll find this incarnation of myself a fitting companion, considering your social status, Suoh."

- - - _The next day, at Ouran Academy_ - - -

Kyoya found himself sitting in an uncomfortable desk, learning more about the latest human history than he cared to. Tamaki had insisted that he put on some clothing immediately after the summoning, and then produced so many spares of the Ouran uniform that it would comprise most of his wardrobe for now. He'd also acquired a pair of glasses to add to the outfit, since Tamaki found the demon's knowing gaze a little unnerving. Now he was absently pressing his pen tip into the pages of a black notebook that the idiot prince had decided didn't go with his own color scheme.

The bell rang, and Kyoya continued to shadow his new master for the next few classes. The more frivolously minded girls were beginning to take note of their seemingly close friendship, making it difficult for them to maneuver through the halls through the forest of squeals. Ouran really was worthy of its prestige; the demon had been educated in modern history, current consumer demand (today's focus was fashion), and which works of literature had withstood the test of time (with amusing results) all in a single morning. It was finally lunchtime, and Kyoya had watched as Tamaki attempted to guess the individual identities of a pair of identical twins between every period.

"I think my month is running out." Tamaki seemed worried, for once, fretting as he shredded his meal with his fork. They were sitting outside, watching the twins at a distance. "Hikaru and Kaoru told me that they would join the club if I could tell them apart, but they don't seem interested in being different from each other. I don't know what to do! I've tried secretly tagging one of them with a permanent marker after guessing wrong so that I could use it for the next guess, but they keep showering each day, and washing their hands!"

"Suoh," the demon began.

"Call me King!" A hyper interjection. "Anyways, I'm worried that they actually don't want to be our friends, and they'll just stay stuck in their little world forever. I wonder if they're happy like that - no, wait, how can they be? They won't be able to fall in love that way -"

"_Tamaki._" Adjusting his glasses caused the lens to glint in the light. "That one is Hikaru."

Suddenly, Tamaki's grin grew so large that Kyoya was taken aback. Then, his mouth moved.

"MON AMI! _Kyo-ya_, mon ami!"

Kyoya's eyes widened.

As he slowly recovered from his shock, he saw a blur of coppery red and blond in the distance. The blond blur was hopping about at a speed too fast to be human, he was sure of it. As he closed his eyes, cries of "but I got it right, didn't I?" drifted to him, followed by more enthusiastic high-speed jabbering. The twins, in addition to Honey, Mori, himself, and Tamaki made six, which meant the Host Club would open the next chapter, despite the misleading title. Kyoya's eyebrow twitched. A moment later, he raised his right hand and snapped his fingers, the contractual seal flaring and taking him out of the scene. Tamaki could just meet him at home.

* * *

OMAKE

Tamaki: So how could you tell which one was Hikaru?

Kyoya: Easy, Tamaki. When we were learning about current fashion trends, the twins switched places as though they had to take correct credit for their work. I noted their distinct styles when it comes to design, and identified them using that.

Tamaki: You're identifying them by their _clothes_?

Kyoya: Fashion design is a part of who they are, Tamaki. You can't disguise a designer's personal style or imitate it so easily, you know.

**AN: **I feel like I'm telling you not to buy knock-offs now. Oh well, support your local artists and designers: don't buy cheap imitations and respect the intellectual property of fellow creative minds. :) Oh, and don't worry, the twincest will be moar.

Hikaru & Kaoru: Next time, Ch.3. The Shadow King enters!

Tamaki: Shadow? But I'm not shadowy at all!


	3. The Shadow King enters!

___Disclaimer: I do not own Ouran High School Host Club, or any other referenced animes. _

* * *

**Ch. 3: The Shadow King enters!**

"Let the first club meeting of the year come to order! Honey, Mori, Hikaru and Kaoru, thank you for coming!" He gestured towards Kyoya. "This is Kyoya, who will be our vice president, while I will be the _king_ of this place. Long live the Host King! We only have a few minutes today to prepare for our first Host Club session, so listen as I tell you all the many ways to make a woman happy!"

At this announcement, Honey climbed onto Mori's shoulders, looking confused, while the twins set their hands on their hips in mirroring poses.

"Don't you - " one began, "think we should hurry?" the other finished. "Besides, we're not interested in _that_," they said in perfect unison, and snickered at their successful attempt to derail the boss, who couldn't conceive of anyone not wanting to please young ladies.

Kyoya stepped forward. They really did only have a few minutes, after all, and he needed to ensure the success of this opening in order for the rest of today's plan to prevail. "Very well, I will take it from here. Today, Hikaru and Kaoru will premiere their Hitachiin Twins Brotherly Love Act! It's pretty self explanatory, you just act like very _loving_ brothers."

The twins turned to look at each other at this announcement, tilting their heads to either side and forming a symmetrical picture. Then Hikaru bounced up, and slid his hand around his brother's waist with the ease of long practice.

"You mean-" he began.

"- like this?" Kaoru finished, as they drew closer to each other, and their hands reached deeper.

Ignoring Tamaki, who was now sporting a light blush across his cheek despite having come up with the idea, Kyoya continued. "Honey will indulge fully in his Shota image, allowing him to eat as much cake - "

And here Honey created numerous puffs of little pink clouds in his eagerness.

" - as he wants." Unable to resist, he snuck a last glance at the Host King's fading blush, the heat of it attracting his interest. Inadvertently, his lips parted slightly, which he turned into his next sentence. "Honey will also double as Mori's 'lovely item', so that Mori can emphasize his 'Wild Type' while still remaining accessible to the ladies."

"Hm."

"And I," Tamaki pranced forward, practically dancing in glee, "will be the Princely Type, here to grant solace to all womankind!"

"..."

The door creaked open slightly, and six heads turned to look.

"Intro sequence, go!" Tamaki stage-whispered.

"Huh?" Honey looked confused, along with everyone else.

"Look, just pose when you're introduced, okay?" Tamaki hissed, as the door opened another inch. He started filling the air with petals wafting on a breeze, calling on his special skill of producing things from nowhere.

"Oh, it's just a guy." The twins declared, disinterested.

_This must be the girl,_ Kyoya mused, jotting down a few notes.

_Haruhi! I must convince her to stay!_ The hamster on the wheel powering Tamaki's brain went into overdrive, causing a bit of steam to escape from his ears. "He is _not_ just a guy! Even a guy deserves the attention of lovely young men such as ourselves, and there's nothing wrong with that!"

The Hitachiins gaped a little at this pronouncement. The boss sure was surprising; who would've guessed that he'd be so openly accepting? "Okay! Then let's begin." Setting themselves hip to hip, they intertwined their arms and smiled at their first guest.

"Here at the Ouran Host Club," Kyoya began, "we use our natural traits to fulfill a fantasy type."

As he introduced each type, Tamaki caused a frame of flowers to form around each host, which was more exhausting than he had counted on. He'd never produced that many flowers in a day before. But if it was for the club, there was no way that he would hold back.

When he reached Kyoya, though, a purple rose suddenly appeared in the Cool Type's hand. _I didn't make that, _Tamaki thought in surprise. _I guess he is a demon, but I didn't know he could also..._

In the next few minutes, a vase with an inflated value was shattered, Haruhi was inducted into indentured servitude to the Host Club, and Kyoya took one step closer to fulfilling the terms of his contract. The door opened, and a stream of yellow clad students came in, their chatter interrupted by the gentle pelting of rose petals. Soon, they had all been drawn to various seating areas, with the hosts in attendance.

Watching Tamaki in action was astonishing. In a few minutes, there were so many ladies fluttering to his feet that the room was becoming breezy. _Well, it looks as though making flowers bloom is Tamaki's true talent, even metaphorically. _Kyoya observed him until his own fanclub formed in front of him. Still, he wouldn't be caught lacking in the host department. He produced a few more of his flowers to emphasize his 'cool type' and sauntered into his group of unattended ladies.

- - -_Host Club, Day 3_- - -

For the last few days, Kyoya had been perfecting a system for charming his customers, as well running the club. First, he would escort all the ladies to their designated hosts. Then, he would spend the next twenty minutes surreptitiously making not so innocent contact with his patrons: a slight caress, sly double entendres, and eyes that made sensual promises he had no intention of keeping, all the while preserving the perfect facade of a cool, polite host, having a proper, refined chat. He would record particularly successful reactions to his actions while they struggled to control themselves, then continue the game.

At the same time, he would keep track of a few problem areas in the club: Tamaki's station, and the twins' station. At some point, Tamaki would invariably manage to talk himself into a corner, or be on the verge of honestly making promises that he would regret. The twins would begin to take their act to where the rating would have to change, and need intervention. He would time it so that his own customers would be on the verge of desperation at the same moment, then trigger the Shadow King ploy.

First, he would catch Kaoru's eye, who would then use Hitachiin Brothers Telepathy to clue in his twin. Hikaru, with Kaoru as backup, would then begin harassing Haruhi, whose station needed some occasional excitement in order to ensure return customers. This was sure to attract the attention of Tamaki, who would ultimately attempt to intervene, fail, then appeal to Kyoya. He would sort out the incident, which would serve the dual purpose of distracting the ladies and entertaining them simultaneously, and the Club would reset until it reached critical point again. All the while, Honey and Mori would spectate with the ladies who preferred to stay on the sidelines, with plenty of sweet snacks and refreshments.

The plan had been constructed since the very first session, but the timing was the tricky part. Every time the parts went into action out of sync with the rest of the club, genuine chaos would erupt in the Club, resulting in extra costs in dry cleaning and complimentary future sessions. This time, it would be perfect.

Tamaki was already trying his best to charmingly sidestep genuine offers from his overeager guests. Smile still shining brightly, he attempted to distract them with more commoner's coffee, but the novelty had worn off. For them, at least.

"Doesn't a princess deserve a prince, Tamaki? Oh, say you'll carry me off to your castle!"

Stumbling back slightly, he attempted to look graceful. "Ah princess, but a majestic bird like yourself deserves to have the freedom of the open skies! An earthbound prince like me has no right to keep you next to me."

"Oh, Tamaki!" Another girl swooned, fluttering onto the ground into the second dimension.

Stepping forward, a third girl began to entrap the most eligible bachelor in the room. "Wouldn't you be lonely, without someone at your side, Tamaki?"

"Of course, princess, but I'm afraid that is..." Sighing melodramatically, he turned away. "...my curse to bear." Any moment now, one of them would point out that he didn't have to spend his days alone, and he would run out of flattering excuses. At most, the Host King had five minutes of blandishments left in him, by Kyoya's calculations.

On the other side, the 'Natural Type' was beginning to warm to her subject. "Yes, I don't think that you should be judged by what you enjoy, but cherish it for the happiness it gives you.

"And what are your interests, Haruhi?"

"Well, I won't pretend that I'm not intensely interested in the Cobjalch Tribe, which formed their own system of government through a system of representational totems, chosen by a subsystem of the lowest class, which are then given to the intermediate class, who then stage a blind ballot, electing a small group of select 'chosen ones' to describe characteristics independently until the corresponding totems become obvious. In that narrowed pool of totems, a series of symbols is contained in such a way as to find a match in a member of the upper class, who previously selected correlating symbols without any foreknowledge of..."

Kyoya's pen moved across the page. _Four minutes._

The nervousness of the three girls seated around him was starting to peak, and he soon saw the reason why. The girl directly across from him had brought him a gift, which turned out to be an exquisitely crafted tea set for the Host Club. He accepted it graciously, and began commenting on the item, showcasing his vast amount of knowledge on teacups.

His current target was the girl to his right. As he leaned forward to allow the girls to examine the design, his hidden hand lightly stroked the forearm of the girl beside him, nails brushing tauntingly across her rapidly warming skin. She stayed seated back as the rest of the group leaned forward and shakily pretended to sip from her cup.

"I see, Kyoya, you know so much about the process of hand making fine china. I'm impressed, is this a particular interest of yours?"

"No, ladies, I merely have a deep appreciation for the intricate beauty of these cups." He leaned back, reengaging the girl on the right, having unobtrusively removed his hand from hers. "You see, the porcelain is flawlessly delicate, and yet it's capable of containing such intense heat." Looking at her through lowered lashes, he allowed his eyes to wander suggestively before returning to her enraptured expression. His tone, however, betrayed nothing but mild pleasure, and the glare on his glasses prevented the other girls from seeing his eyes. She started, feeling her blush deepen, rattling her cup against the plate and almost dropping it as she tore her eyes away from him.

He leaned in quickly and caught the teacup before it fell, capturing her hands along with it. He lowered his voice into a heated murmur against her ear, shielded from view by her hair and the commotion. "Careful, Princess, you wouldn't want it to spill over," he cautioned, as the contents wobbled on the verge of flowing out. "You'd make such a _mess._" Her fingers shook satisfyingly in reaction, while he steadied the cup and caught Kaoru's eye from across the room. _Two minutes._

Kaoru, who by now was practically on his twin's lap, knew that his shy uke act was pushing Hikaru to his limit. Pretending to resist while while he squirmed enticingly, he watched as Hikaru drew within inches of fastening his mouth onto the exposed skin of his throat, and pushing aside the remaining cloth.

Fisting his fingers in Hikaru's hair to impede him, Kaoru arched back and moaned, "Hi-karu..." while lowering his eyes to his twin's, and darting them towards Haruhi. He could almost hear his brother's suppressed huff of displeasure as he tore his attention away from the wanton tease on his lap, and found an excuse to torment Haruhi.

"Oh, Haruhi!," Hikaru called in a sing-song lilt, "would you like to try some fancy chocolate?

"It's imported from Belgium, and flown in only one day after it was made by their expert chocolatiers." Kaoru added.

Before Haruhi could respond, she found a twin grinning over each of her shoulders.

"Here, Haruhi, let me feed it to you."

"I can feed myself, Hikaru." She replied, as she selected a piece and sampled it.

"There's some on your fingers, let me get that for you." Kaoru's lips wrapped around two fingertips, causing Hikaru to take a swift intake of breath at the sight.

A blonde blur moved from the side of the room towards the trio. "What do you think you're doing! My daughter is too good for the likes of you! As her father, I will not allow this kind of behavior from my children! Brothers and sisters shouldn't act this way. Haruhi, you're supposed to only accept chocolates from your loving father! How could you betray me like this after I raised you to be a respectable young lady, and with such ruffians as these -"

It was a good thing the Host king had a reputation for being delusional, as it averted the question of why he had mistaken Haruhi's gender in the eyes of the guests.

"- your daddy! And you two - as your King, I demand that you cease at once. Stop - stop that, Kaoru - Hikaru, do something - ahh!" He yelped in frantic ineffectiveness, growing progressively less coherent.

_And, zero._ Tamaki finally took a breath.

"_Mommy!" _

The Cool Type finally turned towards the disturbance, raising an eyebrow.

"Does he mean you, Kyoya?"

Feigning regret, he muttered, "Unfortunately, yes."

"Help me, Mommy, these terrible twins are threatening my dear Haruhi's virtue! How can you just stand there while our daughter is being molested!"

Kyoya distanced himself from the girl who looked just about ready to commit a severe breach of decorum, hiding his smugness as he crossed the room to Tamaki.

It took ten minutes to detangle the twins from their chosen victim, and calm the self-appointed father. Ten minutes to allow all the hormones to cool, and leave all the occupants of Music Room #3 almost level-headed.

Then, the girls settled back into their seats and the members of the Host Club returned to their respective stations, ready to begin the cycle again.

Kyoya flipped his notebook closed, and returned to his table. _Too easy.  
_

* * *

OMAKE

Kyoya: *examining floor plans for Tamaki's mansion* So what you're saying is that I'm going to be living right _here._ And _your_ room is here.

Tamaki: *nods, looking pleased with himself*

Kyoya: So what you're saying is...

Together: _We have adjoining rooms!_(?)

**AN:** Yes, that's how Kyoya rolls. I hope he didn't seem like a creepster. We all know what Tamaki does during Club hours, but I haven't really read any fic that describes Kyoya's act, and I thought I'd take a crack at it. Hope you weren't bored by the obligatory intro to the Host Club...

Mori: Join us next time for Ch.4, The Job of a Vice President!

Honey: I don't think we're even in the next episode, Takashi...


	4. The Job of a Vice President!

___Disclaimer: I do not own Ouran High School Host Club, or any other referenced animes. _

* * *

**Ch. 4: The Job of a Vice President!**

Kyoya woke up from a dream in which he was still serving one of his previous masters. That particular contract had been terrible; all his master had done was kill criminals through text and eat potato chips dramatically. In fact, he'd had an ego that might eclipse the Suoh heir's - and that train of thought led him back to the dream. That nightmare, actually. In it, the egomaniac had Tamaki's voice, and cackled maniacally about purifying the world, repeating his speech from the beginning with each rem cycle...

Which, of course was completely separate from the Tamaki that was currently half on his bed and entirely in his personal space, chattering enthusiastically about his plans for cosplaying live statues in the future.

"- have Honey as Buddha, Haruhi as the Statue of Liberty, I can be the Virgin Mary, and -"

Really, this was one of the worst schemes his new master come up with so far, and the incessant chatter combined with the early time of day was starting to give him a headache. How had that moron gotten into his room anyway? _Shit, it's 6:30. What a lunatic._ He cracked open an eye, squinting against the light. Tamaki remained oblivious, happily and freely fantasizing. The blond hair had fallen into his eyes due to his excessive excitement, and Kyoya experienced the urge to thread his fingers through it, pull Tamaki down...

"- or maybe instead Mori can be Mother Russia and you can be Hermes, or I can be David, or the Thinker -"

Trace the line of his jaw, forcing his mouth to...

"-don't you think it will be wonderful, Kyoya? Do you think that Hikaru and Kaoru could combine to make the Singaporean Merlion? One part lion and one part mer-"

"..shut...up..." Kyoya moaned into his pillow.

Tamaki finally noticed the dark purple aura that had by now filled up half the room with demonic essence. Suddenly, all the color in his face drained and he froze in midmotion.

After a few seconds of inaction in which Kyoya attempted to go back to sleep, Tamaki perked up again. "Oh, Kyoya, are you okay? Did you not sleep well?"

An icy voice, muffled by a pillow or two. "For your information, you were featured in my dreams last night."

Completely disregarding the reproachful tone, the Prince responded immediately. "I was? I'm so honored! I knew I would start growing on you. You're not," and here Tamaki lowered his voice and leaned close to his ear, " falling for me already, are you?"

Kyoya could hear the idiot grinning through his voice alone. He shifted the pillow away and turned onto his back, throwing an arm across his eyes as a shield. Still groaning slightly, he flatly replied, "It was a nightmare."

Tamaki wilted a little, then softened. "Ah, I'm sorry, Kyo-" He paused. Moving closer to the hypotensive demon, he moved the arm lying across his friend's eyes, and gently brushed away the stray hairs lying across his face. Watching as Kyoya winced from the light, he continued earnestly, "We'll make them better, I promise." Rallying, the Prince persona returned in full force. "From the moment you met me, I promised myself that I would light the darkness in your life!"

_Thwack_. As Tamaki worked on separating the pillow from his face, Kyoya rolled his eyes. It was just like the idiot to disarm him with pure honesty, then allow him some distance again with his foolishness. Sometimes, Kyoya wondered exactly how insightful the princely type really was.

"Tamaki, we're going to be late for school. Do you mind if we continue this later?"

Kyoya heard a yelp as Tamaki exited his room, frantically wondering what to wear before realizing they wore the same thing everyday.

- - - _lunchtime_ - - -

"-so now that you're my Vice President, you'll have to account for everything, and keep it all on the books. Do you know how to do that?" Tamaki eyed the demon uncertainly. One never knew what demons learned, growing up.

Kyoya smirked, causing his companion to sweatdrop. "Tell me, exactly what do you think most people summon me for? Do you know how many times I've heard them wish for 'more wealth than you can imagine'? Granted, I have more experience in corporate acquisitions than club management, but I'm sure I can make this a profitable endeavor."

- - - _clubtime_ - - -

Honey was at his station, devouring yet another cake from the finest bakery in town. Scaled replicas of every famous statue in the world were still being delivered on Tamaki's orders. Mori was feeling guilty due to accidentally injuring a member of his kendo club, and was paying for medical expenses. The twins were causing various young ladies to overheat and suffer from blood loss through the nasal cavity, incurring further medical expenses. Haruhi had also required another mandatory makeover, due to her tendency to revert to her previous grooming habits. And all the Host Club members had open access to the club's accounts.

There had been no sound coming from the pineapple computer's keyboard, or from the pen now resting on top of the black notebook, for the last fifteen minutes. It had been a whole ten minutes since anyone had seen Kyoya's eyes from behind the glare of his glasses. If they could see past them, they would know that his eyes had long since frozen in a mixture of shock and panic. _Does he even know how much anything costs? If this keeps up, the Host Club will spiral into the depths of bankruptcy..._

Resisting the urge to violently mate his head with his desk repeatedly, Kyoya performed a quick check on all the host stations. Where was Tamaki? Standing right next to him, with an unwontedly serious mien. Upon second glance, Haruhi was missing from the room as well.

The demon stopped typing and gave Tamaki his full attention; it wasn't often that he could see Tamaki devoid of any posturing, and he enjoyed those moments.

"Kyoya," the miserable blond explained, "someone threw Haruhi's belongings in the fountain, and I'm going to go down to help her. I've asked my customers to come back next time, but just in case something comes up, cover for me, will you?"

Nodding automatically, he half-rose until Tamaki stopped him with a hand on his chest.

"No, you stay here. It was my fault that Haruhi is being picked on. I'll take care of it."

As the prince calmly exited the room, he couldn't help but note the lithe lines of his body, and the innate grace that the aristocrat possessed. Amazingly enough, there was more than fluff between the ears of that one; his irresponsible princeling had turned out to be endearingly accountable for his actions, and sensitive to the emotions of those he cared for. The Shadow King found himself drawn to the windows overlooking the fountain, stepping away from the last lingering minutes of the Host Club.

Sunlight streamed horizontally across the water, outlining the figures below in a subtle glow. In the darkening light, drops of water were illuminated all around Tamaki as he flung his head back, scattering the liquid from strands of golden hair. _Don't know why he creates sparkles, the idiot shines naturally._

If anyone had been looking at Kyoya's face in that moment, they would have noticed that the ice in his eyes seemed to have melted, giving way to the warm charcoal of a cozy hearth. The hand tapping the pen against his lips stilled, and he stood transfixed by the sight.

Down below, Tamaki suddenly looked upward towards the windows, blond locks lit by the setting sun. He suddenly had the feeling that there was somewhere he belonged, and his features softened as he turned back to the search.

* * *

OMAKE

Tamaki: Wow, you're getting really good at number crunching!

Kyoya: I _am_ considered a demon of wealth, for the most part.

Tamaki: You are? *falls out of chair*

Kyoya: Tamaki. Didn't you read the categories in your summoning grimoire?

Tamaki: *sheepishly* Oh, I just chose based on the pictures...

**AN: **Let me know what you think! Tamaki eats reviews for breakfast, and I have to feed him.

Kyoya: Next time, Ch. 5. Secrets of the Black Book!

Tamaki: Is it about me?


	5. Secrets of the Black Book!

___Disclaimer: I do not own Ouran High School Host Club, or any other referenced animes. _

* * *

**Ch. 5: Secrets of the Black Book!**

"_Tamaki, you idiot!"_

The clatter of running footsteps, then a crash.

It had all started when the Host Club's number one host had flirtatiously asked the young lady if she found him as worthy of love as her father, due to his many admirable traits. _As her father_... who was newly deceased.

Her tears had welled up in her eyes until they brimmed over, splashing liberally over her cheeks until she'd hastily hidden her face. Tamaki had hovered helplessly, feeling hopelessly inadequate as his hosting skills dissipated in the face of her unanticipated reaction.

The beginning of the Club had gone well enough; the statue cosplay had earned many gasps of admiration, particularly as the hosts-dressed-as-statues had stirred to life amidst the field of replica-statues, surprising and delighting their guests. However, as the princess ran off, sobbing, the stiffened fabric of the apparel tripped the prince, causing him to crash to the floor.

The Host Club closed early due to Tamaki's continuing shock, the members sending their clients off before tending to their king.

Haruhi managed to say farewell most efficiently, and became the first one to make her way to his side. "You're not hurt, are you?" She extended a hand to help him up, which the dazed host was too confused to grasp.

"Uh, I'll be alright." Tamaki sat up and rubbed his head. "Shouldn't someone go after -"

The whirr of heavy machinery filled the room, and a lift emerged through the floor.

"Ho ho ho ho ho ho ho!"

"_Renge?" _Kyoya's low exclamation of disbelief was muffled by the continuing grand entrance. The demon world's foremost expert on human culture (read: interspecies otaku), and Kyoya's former fiance, had hinted that she might drop by, since word was going around that he had managed to land himself in interesting, as well as extremely bishonen, company.

"Ho ho ho ho ho ho ho - ha ha." And silence filled the room.

Hikaru shoved the Host King forward, who then stumbled to a stop at the base of the lift.

"Ah, excuse me, Miss, but you can't -"

"You!" Renge pointed her finger at the primary offender. "Mushroom King! Is this how you greet the newest lovely lady to grace your host club? You need a lesson in courtesy! And _tact_!" The lift lowered, once again disappearing into the floor, as the newcomer stepped onto the floor, ready to impart her knowledge. "Vulnerable women are especially susceptible to the princely type. It's no surprise that she went running, since you didn't even know the most essential aspects of her background."

The Host King recoiled, inching further away with each sentence.

"If you want to keep your status as Number One Host, you'll have to work harder!"

Watching Tamaki's growing distress, the twins cackled until they were rolling around on the floor. By the end of the diatribe, the chastised prince was sulking in a dark corner, refusing to come out.

Honey gathered Usa-chan and peered up at the stranger. "Um, who are you? Have we seen her before?" This last part was directed towards Mori.

"Miss Houshokuji is the daughter of a longstanding friend to our family." Kyoya interjected, with an inward sigh. "Please treat her well."

Hearing this, the dark corner disappeared, along with the vertical stripes of woe, and the prince reappeared at his demon's side.

"You know her? So she's..." Tamaki paused, then mouthed the rest, in plain sight of the rest of the Host Club. "_Like you?"_

The others were perplexed. How was the new girl anything like their shadow king? As far as they could tell, she had no traits in common with their calculative vice president.

Tamaki circled the girl with renewed interest. It wasn't everyday that he met another demon. "Welcome, Princess." He extended his hand in an elegant flourish, and prepared to catch her when she swooned.

Except she didn't.

"Well, that's all for today. Until next time!" Stepping over her giant lift, the floor opened back up, and the hosts watched in bewilderment as she laughed maniacally all the way down. Meanwhile, Tamaki crumbled to dust at her nonchalant disregard for his best moves.

"That's all she came for?" Kaoru muttered as she left. Hikaru gave an exaggerated shrug in response to his twin, as they watched her disappear.

"She is extremely interested in huma- popular culture, and we seem to have attracted her attention," Kyoya supplied into the confused silence. "Anyways, Host Club is over for today, with a net loss of -" he referenced his notes, "4.5 percent."

Noting his pointed look at a reassembled Tamaki as he said this, the rest of the Host Club quickly sidled out of the room, with Honey riding high on Mori's shoulders.

A long pause, as Tamaki remained unaffected by the previous glare. "Ne, Mommy?" he asked in a quiet, pitiful voice. He was clearly troubled, and the vulnerable expression with the saddened eyes formed a pathetic combination.

Kyoya humored him this time, doing what he could to alleviate Tamaki's distress.

"Yes, Daddy." It came out a bit less dry than he had intended, but he couldn't help that.

Tamaki brightened at his response, looking slightly less disheartened.

"Do you think she's okay? She seemed pretty upset. Maybe I should go find her and offer her some comfort."

_You're the one that needs comforting, _Kyoya thought. The prince looked so dejected that he knew he would have to do something to prevent anything like this from happening again.

"I saw her catch up with some friends on the way out," he informed Tamaki soothingly. He hadn't, but that girl did normally leave with two others. "Why don't we head home too? I've got some research to do."

_Maybe you'll snap out of it if I feed you some Pocky sticks._

Tamaki nodded in agreement, and began trudging back to the private car with his best friend.

Even though he moped all the way home, and all the way through dinner, things were starting to regain normalcy when they reached their shared study room and closed the door.

Tamaki sat twiddling his pencil as he alternately studied and fidgeted. After three attempts to unobtrusively view the the contents of the black notebook Kyoya was diligently writing in, he gave up on subtlety. His friend had been engrossed in writing a large amount of information in a notebook Tamaki knew was reserved for Host Club business, all the while intermittently clicking and scrolling through something. He watched as the distorted reflections on Kyoya's glasses showed many windows opening and closing on the screen, wondering what his friend was viewing so avidly. _Maybe he's googling "tamaki suoh h0t," _he thought, momentarily amusing himself.

He continued observing his productive partner while growing increasingly restless. Eventually, he took advantage of the vice president's inattention and stuck his head directly into his working space, eyes scanning over the materials to his heart's content.

"Hey, what are you-" Startled, Kyoya leaned back.

Taking advantage of the additional space, Tamaki thrust his head in further. "So you've started researching all our clients?" The pages were filled with information on every client of the Host Club, and the screen had multiple windows open to some clearly confidential information. Obviously, the demon was unconcerned with the privacy of their guests.

Kyoya responded while attempting to remove the blond intrusion. "Yes, since it would be better for business if you didn't fall into a state of depression every time you inadvertently upset a princess..."

The black book held the secrets of every girl who frequented the Host Club. But the most important secret it held was legible to anyone with the skill to read between the lines: Everything within it was written for the benefit of one person, and one person only.

The curious prince sat back. _He__ did it for me, _Tamaki realized, happiness beginning to well deep inside him. "I didn't ask you to do that, did I?"

The single pause became two, as Kyoya attempted to put off facing him for a moment longer.

"...no." The demon tried to look away from those effulgent eyes, but found himself captivated as a softer version of Tamaki's typical smile emerged.

"Thank you, Kyoya." he said simply.

Kyoya caught his breath at his friend's unbridled happiness, disguising it in a light huff. "See, you shouldn't wilt like that, it detracts from your charm," he said, referring to earlier.

Tamaki tilted his head, peering closely at him. "So you think I'm charming!" The grin grew playful.

"Charmingly vain." As if he would admit it, even in passing.

"For you, I would be anything." A melodious response, ending with the blond in closer proximity to his working friend. A hand, resting lightly on the demon's shoulder, brought him within optimal viewing distance.

"Are you attempting to _host_ me, Tamaki?" Kyoya's glasses glinted dangerously, as the fearless Host King gracefully dropped to one knee.

"How could I have neglected such a beauty? Your dark hair, and those gray eyes are beyond comparison." Reaching forward gracefully, Tamaki plucked his 56th white rose of the day from behind Kyoya's ear, which the demon absently accepted. "If only I could spend every day by your side, my summer would never end."

The moron's face really was more captivating up close.

"From sunrise to sunset, I cherish each moment in your presence, my love. Indeed, the world could end, and I would be content, as long as I had you."

Kyoya waited until he finished his speech, then proceeded to use the rose to cheerfully beat him over the head until petals showered them both.

* * *

OMAKE

Tamaki: EVERYONE! It is absolutely _essential_ that you remain completely still to properly mimic a statue!

Kyoya: Why don't you show us how it's done, Tamaki?

Tamaki poses, and freezes in midmotion, barely breathing.

Kyoya: Let's test this, shall we? Can you stay still if I touch you here... or _here_?

Tamaki twitches, holding out for a single second, before convulsing into helpless giggles as Kyoya tickles him unmercifully.

**AN: ***feeds reviews to Tamaki* You get to live another day, Tama-chan. And Renge won't appear much. Any supporting female character other than Haruhi will be very, very minor, and sometimes I forget about her too...

Haruhi: Next time, Ch. 6. Lobelia Girl's Academy Attacks!

Tamaki: No, it's not what you think!


	6. Lobelia Girls' Academy Attacks!

_Disclaimer: I do not own Ouran High School Host Club, or any other referenced animes. _

___*A special thank you to everyone who has faved or alerted this story! I am muy grateful._

* * *

**Ch. 6: Lobelia Girl's Academy Attacks!**

Haruhi was gone.

Tamaki had been pacing for the last hour, after Lobelia's trio of sexually questionable Zuka Club members had convinced her to visit their campus to determine whether she wanted a transfer. The others could see the wheels in his head turning, as he rubbed his chin in a effort to aid the thinking process. He turned on his heel, beginning the trek across Music Room #3 again.

Then, he stopped.

He turned, his head ratcheting over to face Kyoya. "Tell me, Kyoya, who does Haruhi currently love most in this world?"

Hoping to avoid a corner of woe relapse, Kyoya opted for a diplomatic answer. "Her father."

"That's right! Her father, Ranka!"

Everyone gaped as they wondered how Tamaki had regained sanity and come back from whatever delusional world he normally lived in.

"Therefore, in order to convince her NOT TO LEAVE US, we have to remind her of what she loves most!"

They waited. What he said next would determine how the rest of the day would go.

Snapping into action, Tamaki began putting his plans in motion. "Hikaru, Kaoru! We're going to need dresses in all our sizes, along with wigs and makeup!" As he spoke, the twins were already bringing in the items he listed, since being filthy rich gave them the ability to disregard commoner concerns, like logistics.

"Now everyone," he commanded, standing in front of the pile of supplies, "we're all going to crossdress today, to fit in with Haruhi's family tradition of crossdressing! This way, we'll remind her how close we all are!" He started sorting through the pile, conveniently forgetting that Haruhi wasn't crossdressing by choice, and flinging all the correct items to the proper host.

"She could come back anytime, so work quickly and help each other. What do you do with all these buttons anyway? And where do these frills go..." His instructions degenerated into distracted muttering, as Tamaki began fussing with his dress.

The Hitachiins disappeared into one of the three dressing rooms, which were actually decently spacious; another indication of the luxury of their surroundings. Giggles and scuffling could be heard coming from behind the curtain shortly after, a fact Kyoya carefully noted on his clipboard.

Mori was helping Honey with his outfit in the second dressing room, even though the sweets-loving boy was still attempting to eat his double chocolate cake. Since Mori didn't want to deprive him of his treat, despite it being his fourth slice of the day, he simply paused every other second to allow the boy to gorge himself. It was sure to take so long that Mori would be able to skip wearing a dress at all.

With only one room left, Tamaki quickly dragged Kyoya towards it as he was finishing up his notes, yanking him in and closing the curtain.

The demon was fully dressed in feminine regalia long before Tamaki had finished. The prince was, of course, sublimely unconscious in the course of undressing and redressing, far too concerned with the mechanics of dressing to worry about the pair of dark eyes that now observed him at leisure.

Kyoya watched the curve of Tamaki's spine while he contorted into various positions which were somehow intended to aid in the fitting process. And he watched as the shoulders of the dress finally settled over Tamaki's frame, forming an opening that converged to a point above the tailbone. Shoulder blades shifted under flawless skin, as the blond attempted to secure the line of buttons that would close up the back. Silken strands of hair brushed against the nape of his neck, as Tamaki, finally remembering that help was close at hand, turned his head to face Kyoya, iodine eyes perfectly complimented by light blond lashes.

"With your love for beauty, it's a wonder that you're not completely narcissistic, or endlessly mesmerized by your own reflection," Kyoya remarked, before Tamaki could speak. _Crap, was that a compliment? _He took the few steps necessary to reach the buttons, and began securing them from the bottom up. His head was slightly bowed as he performed his task, although he was not too engaged to notice the slight warmth that the air close to Tamaki retained, or that, having breathed it in, it was reminiscent of lavender and honey.

Dexterous fingers made short work of the buttons, whispering across smooth skin and disappearing before traveling upward. Tamaki was gauging the success of their costumes in the mirror, when breathless laughter sounded across from them, as the twins tumbled out of their dressing room and made their way over. The merry duo stopped in front of the curtain, then stuck their tousled heads in.

"Aren't you finished yet?" Hikaru demanded.

"We want to see how you look, and we've been ready for ages." Kaoru eyes were wide as he scanned both Kyoya and Tamaki from head to toe.

"Just a bit more," Kyoya lightly rebuffed them, without bothering to turn around.

"Fine, we'll just go and start the hair and makeup out here." The twins popped back out, and they soon heard footsteps leading away, along with a quiet discussion.

"Did you see that?"

"Yeah, he looks so convincing."

"You don't think he's -"

"No way."

Kyoya had moved onto hosiery and footwear, which were both substantially different from the male version. Not to mention, he hadn't had an occasion to experience nylon since its invention.

It was Tamaki's turn to watch, bemused, as his friend stretched the fabric and attempted to pull it upwards unevenly, and unsuccessfully.

"No, not like that. Here, I'll show you. Sit over there and I'll get it."

He knelt in front of his friend, easing the article of clothing up over the ankle, and past the calf. Kyoya looked very... feminine, now that he was fully dressed. Even the doppelganger duo had noted the visual authenticity of the disguise. Could it be possible that Kyoya had simply taken the easy way out? Tamaki's mind instantly brought forth the image of the lithe, female form that he had first seen, causing a light pink to dust over his features.

The demon looked down, where a blond knelt practically between his legs. The situation wasn't giving him particularly pure thoughts. With the Tamaki's warm scent still cycling through his airways, the remembered touch on his fingertips and the renewed touch as Tamaki began on the other side, as well as the careless beauty his prince embodied at his feet, he felt the urge to lay claim on him. He noted the sudden but subtle increase in temperature as the blond blushed, and his own body's subtle reaction.

He was almost done. As his hands guided the clothing into place, his fingers grazed the back of the knee, and Tamaki wondered. He released the fabric, but did not stop his upward motion. Had Kyoya changed form? His hands continued to travel past the lifted hem of the skirt, quickly skimming along the top of the thigh. He had to know. He had to find out if Kyoya was female now. _Just a little further..._

As his hand drifted towards the center, the middle of his fingers bumped into and reflexively curled around -_ Oh God. Maleness means male. Maleness means. Male. Male! _His thoughts wailed. Somewhere, there was a demon reacting in outrage. _Let go, Tamaki! Pry your fingers off his - _ The little Tamaki inside his head was pushed and pulled every lever within sight, yet none of them seem to be the correct control to make him _release_.

Kyoya's surprise had converted to rage. He glared at Tamaki's wide eyes. Any second now, the idiot would die.

Tamaki knew exactly what that look meant. _That's murder coming out of his eyes! _The image of himself as a deer and Kyoya as a car with high beams on flashed through his mind. _He's going to kill me. Oh I'm dead, I'm dead. I died! I'm dead. _His eyes were starting to glaze over.

Kyoya cleared his throat meaningfully, causing Tamaki's palm to twitch, reminding him that he was still frozen in place, physically connected to Kyoya at a very intimate point.

Tamaki tried to speak or beg for his life, but before he could, the curtain jerked open. "Hey boss, we're done with our make-up - "

The twins gaped at the scene before them: Their white prince had his arm elbow deep in his best friend's skirts, while being simultaneously transfixed with fear and blushing a deep red. They started at the intrusion, one turning with a glare that should have killed everything on campus, while the other rapidly scrambled back, having just now retracted his hand.

"Yeah! I feel so cute now!" Honey came bouncing around the corner.

Mori reacted by immediately covering Honey's eyes. "Don't look, Mitskuni."

"It's not -" Tamaki blurted. "It's not what you think!"

The twins recovered, regaining animation. "Wow, I didn't know you were into that!" Hikaru exclaimed.

"Pervert, pervert, Tamaki's a pervert!" Kaoru sang, as they danced around in glee.

"No - No, I was just checking to see if..." Tamaki pleaded in a fit of embarrassment. "..if he was male!"

The twins collapsed against each other, trying to catch their breath amidst their uncontrollable laughter. It was a pretty bad sign that it was a perfectly believable reason, coming from the Host Club President.

"Ah, Tamaki," Kyoya drawled smoothly, joining the conversation at last, "but you already knew that, _didn't you?_" He smirked suggestively, letting the meaning sink in.

The Hitachiins sat up, their interest piqued as the blond's fading blush renewed itself with vigor.

Tamaki couldn't think straight with the suggestive eye contact that Kyoya was throwing his way. He knew what Kyoya was referring to - not what the twins were thinking, those perverts - but the first day, when he saw the demon's body assume its final form, immaculately male as it stepped from the darkness. He reexamined the image in his mind, as he realized that now he knew how Kyoya _felt_, too, causing his blush to darken noticeably.

Watching as Tamaki apparently lost himself in his memories, Hikaru whistled. "No way. We could've sworn -"

"That the boss was a virgin!" Kaoru finished, equally disbelieving.

Mori thought that his hands might be more useful covering Honey's ears rather than his eyes at this point, regardless of the fact that the diminutive martial arts master had actually seen and heard everything.

Before the Host King could pass out from all the blood rushing to his head, the twins decided to avert the mess and finish what they came to do. "Well, let's get your makeup done!" With that, they split up the the demon and his master, and finished just in time for Haruhi's reentry.

To everyone's astonishment, Tamaki's roundabout logic actually worked; Haruhi stayed in the Host Club, and the outfits managed to cheer her up so much that she forgave them for whatever had made her consider leaving in the first place. Kyoya noted that her attitude appeared to be softening towards Tamaki, seemingly touched by the effort and depth of concern he had displayed at her potential departure. The contract was going to be easier to fulfill than he'd expected.

With the resolution of the day's conflicts, the reunited Host Club enjoyed a last round of tea and sweets, despite never having actually been in danger of splitting up in the first place. Though outwardly perfectly exuberant, the prince still had one thing on his mind, which he waited until after the end of Host club to say.

They were the last to leave, as usual, with Kyoya shutting down his laptop, and Tamaki penning a well-deserved thank you note to the cleaning staff. They walked side by side, down empty hallways, while Tamaki attempted to work up his nerve.

"Um. I'm sorry about today, Kyoya..." Tamaki murmured awkwardly.

Not intending to make it easy for the prince, Kyoya feigned ignorance. "Sorry for what, exactly?"

"I'm sorry I - um," Tamaki swallowed, attempting to forge ahead as his face began to heat. "Sorry I t-touched your - "

Kyoya smiled. Tamaki had never seen anything more diabolical in his life.

"I mean, I won't do it again -"

"Oh, you won't?" Affecting disappointment, he decided to tease the blond a bit more. "But you know, I thought that you liked what you saw... but maybe you preferred the first, female option instead..."

"No! No, I mean, I like you this way! but not like - um. This is good. Please don't change."

The demon chuckled. He enjoyed seeing his prince flustered and eager to please. Relenting, he allowed Tamaki to relax. "Don't worry, my form was set as soon as you accepted the contract." He smirked. "All my parts, too." The air between them settled, as the lingering traces of murderous intent died out.

Silence developed between them, as their perfectly synced steps tapped a steady rhythm past a myriad of classrooms. Not for the first time, the demon noted that they were a perfectly matched pair; one dark, one light. The prince seemed to feel it too, unconsciously sinking into a more fluid walk.

"So what exactly are you capable of, as a demon?" Tamaki asked, musing aloud. "Do you think that you could fill me in?"

"I can do anything you wish, my prince." He bowed slightly without breaking his stride, holding his books against his chest. Giving Tamaki his best Host smile, he glanced over. "So what is your heart's desire?"

"I want..." Tamaki felt extremely aware of Kyoya's unwavering gaze. Given carte blanche, curiosity suddenly filled him in an accelerated burst of inspiration.

"I want to see where you were born!"

* * *

OMAKE

Tamaki: Are we going to the demon world? *bouncebounce*

Kyoya: Thankfully, no. I was born in a place where our two worlds meet, which is why I can exist in both.

Tamaki: But you'll take me there one day, right? I want to see where you live!

Kyoya: If you're good, I'll put it under consideration.

**AN:** I think this chapter might have been kinda dubious - sorry! Stay tuned, and I'll keep trying to make this story better. Let me know what you thought o.O, even if it was bad. Thanks for the support so far- really, I get disproportionately excited each time I get a review ^^

Hikaru: For next time, Ch. 7. Tamaki and Kyoya's First Date!

Kaoru: Can we watch?


	7. Tamaki and Kyoya's First Date!

_Disclaimer: I do not own Ouran High School Host Club, or any other referenced animes. _

* * *

**Ch. 7: Tamaki and Kyoya's First Date!**

- - - 5:00 AM - - -

"As your Host King,"

_More like as my current master,_ Kyoya groggily supplemented.

"I command you to spend today with me!" A flourish, and a look of expectant delight rounded out the statement. Tamaki was a force that could not be deterred, the kryptonite to his demonic superpowers. And that look in his eyes- it would be easier to drown several bags of kittens than to disappoint him.

_Shit, it's Saturday._

- - - 9:00 AM - - -

_Ah, so that's how I ended up here._ Kyoya peered blearily out the window of a moving train. A blond head of hair resting on his shoulder muttered softly, and nestled in the crook of his neck. He'd been a compliant rag doll under Tamaki's vigorous ministrations, and had somehow been hustled onto this train with everything he needed for an overnight trip. At least, all the activity had even worn Tamaki down enough to fall asleep, leaving him with a floppy-haired, fuzzy-brained idiot snuggled against him. He smiled and put his head against Tamaki's, closing his eyes once more.

- - 11:00 AM - - -

"Look, Kyoya! See how the irrigation channels match the contours of the hills, ensuring the best growing conditions possible. The cleverness of commoners is simply amazing!"

Kyoya looked around quickly; this was a private train, but there were still a few people within hearing distance. He quickly placed a finger over moving lips to silence him as soon as the word "commoner" began coming out.

"Oh, right, sorry," Tamaki responded at a much more moderate and enclosed-space appropriate volume. In a comparatively hushed voice, he continued exclaiming over the sights as they neared their destination.

Tamaki watched as his dark haired friend became more relaxed as he chattered on. His smile grew wistful, hoping that he could preserve the state of relaxation for the rest of the day. And then he spotted it. "Kyoya, we're here - it's so _beautiful_." Turning that vulnerable smile to the demon, he received a rare upwards curving of his friend's lips in reply.

"Yes, we are. Now don't fall in the gap." The smirk appeared as Tamaki immediately tripped while stepping off the train.

Mist wrapped mountains rose all around them, trailing cool air around the newly descended pair as they exited the station. At the base of Mount Oyama lay Kyoya's birthplace, deep within the Tanzawa mountain range. The village itself had barely qualified as a village, the last time the demon had seen it, but it had grown since then. Sounds of laughter and light-hearted bickering drifted towards them, and they headed into town.

- - 3:00 PM - - -

Tamaki was giddy. His hands were full of gifts for the rest of the Host Club, and his belly was full of the delicious lunch from the commoner cafe, along with the excellent desert. His bloodstream was full of sugar, and his eyes kept bouncing back to his best friend.

"I think that's the last of it, Kyoya." Tamaki gestured with his newly acquired bobbleheaded figure. "Let's go to Oyama now!" He slung his unencumbered arm around Kyoya and began herding him out of the store in the general direction of the mountain.

"Just a minute." The dark-haired pragmatist ducked out from Tamaki's grasp and turned back to the shopkeeper. "Excuse me, but would you mind sending these to Amane Hotel? I'll leave this with you." At the man's nod, he handed over one of his conveniently specific business cards with the assurance that everything would arrive. Since Tamaki hadn't made a move, he eased all the belongings from the blond's grasp and placed them on the closest table.

Starting at the sudden contact, Tamaki beamed at Kyoya. "Thanks. This will be a lot more convenient, won't it? Now both of my hands are free." With that, both of those hands landed on the helpful Vice President and they were on their way again.

Ignoring the sidelong glances, the pair continued to the edge of the village, where the land began to depress slightly, and the mist thickened. It was darker in the shadow of the mountain, and they subconsciously stood closer together.

"What's that? Those lights?" Tamaki squinted against the mist, unable to make out the origin.

"I'm not sure, it's been a long time, after all."

"It smells delicious."

As they neared, stalls upon stalls of confections and various attractions became clear. Tamaki nodded to himself. Just as expected, a street fair was the perfect setting for a romantic night out. This place really was wonderful to spend with someone special, so he made a special note to do so soon. He turned dreamily towards Kyoya. "Do you think that Ha- "

He'd never seen the demon stunned before. Immobile from repressing rage, yes, but not simply stunned. He shook off the urge to giggle.

"Kyoya?"

"Oh. Uh, Tamaki, I don't that any demons will be born here anymore." He nudged his glasses, a seemingly human habit that had ingrained itself into his psyche.

"Was it here, then?"

"Well, it might not have been exactly at this spot, but it was definitely close. The earth has shifted over the years..." He trailed off.

Studying his friend's expression, Tamaki decided. "That's okay. This seems like a wonderful way to spend our time here, and the lights in the mist are almost otherworldly. So what do you say we visit the fair?"

In the cool greys and blues of the mountains, Tamaki seemed to glow with a warm fire, sharing the welcoming quality of the paper lanterns interspersed throughout each booth. Even though he had no particular emotional attachment to his place of birth, the demon felt comforted.

He crooked an eyebrow at the blond and turned, assenting. As they fell into step in the midst of the attractions, Kyoya spoke quietly, but not without a slight sardonic tinge. "You know, I've never had a friend like you."

Tamaki grinned. "I thought that was my line. You have incredible cosmic powers, an unparalleled glaring capacity, and you haven't flattened me even once, even though I know you want to. So why would you say that?"

The blond was drifting closer, perhaps involuntarily. Deciding not to explain himself, Kyoya assessed his surroundings quickly, in order to locate a contingency plan if he needed to distract his companion. "I didn't say it was a compliment, did I?"

One look at the demon's face was enough to know he was teasing. "Oh? But I complimented you, and you've never even proved the first part. It's all on faith, and I have perfect faith in you." The hovering blond's delight was undiminished. It wasn't often that the demon encountered such guileless joy, and with such consistency.

In front of a nearby stand, there was a white haired boy paying and trying to hold what looked like the contents of the entire stand. "Hmm, those dango must be good, how about it, Tama-" Kyoya looked around.

"Come on up and try your luck! Three tosses and huge prizes!" The stand was filled with bottles, and it was one of those games where each contestant attempted to throw a ball into the tops of the bottles, which were lined in an array, and filled with different colors, signifying various prize levels.

Violet eyes found gray ones, and Tamaki pulled Kyoya to his side. "Look!" A hushed whisper, as though a true wonder was there to behold. Kyoya followed Tamaki's gaze towards the prizes.

There it was, in the top section. A giant Kuma-chan. _Oh no._

"I'd like to try!" Tamaki pointed dramatically. "I'll win that for sure, just watch me." The disinterested vendor handed him three balls, assuming the pretty boy was out to impress some air-headed girl, until a dark haired male appeared near him and took his place at the side of the stall, leaning against the right frame. Amused, he wondered what sort of high school kid would want a teddy bear with no girl to give it to.

Concentrating, he threw the first one. _Pop, pop, pop, pop, pop. _It bounced on the tops of the bottles, like a rock skipping over a pond, disappearing into the back. Second try. He arced it upward, so that the ball formed a vertical trajectory upon descent. _Miss_. The ball landed between bottles. Never mind the colors of the contents, now all Tamaki wanted was for the ball to land inside any bottle.

Third toss. A sixty degree angle with very little strength behind it. _Hop plop. _"I got one! What color was that?"

The street vendor checked. "Red."

Kyoya smirked. "So three more of those in a single set and you'll have Kuma-chan, right?" He could clearly see that red was easily the least common color in all the bottles, making this more than likely an impossible task for the young prince.

"Right!"

Forty-five sets later, even Tamaki's enthusiasm was beginning to wane. His eyebrows grew more determined, and his success rate dropped. "Won't you cheer me on, Kyoya?" He turned back to his last set of three, and picked one up.

"Wait." Before he could throw, Kyoya had caught his wrist and taken the ball. "Allow me to try."

Tamaki gaped as he watched each throw skip over the tops of the bottles, only to drop in as soon as it crossed over one with red contents. _Pop pop pop, _then it was rolling in the glass.

The demon turned to his friend, "So, which one would you like?" He gestured at the wall accomodatingly.

"But don't you want something? After all, you're the one who did it."

"This isn't exactly the type of thing I desire."

Tamaki considered, then made the choice that the vendor had expected from the start. "That one," he said, pointing at the giant teddy bear.

The shopkeeper climbed up to retrieve it, then handed the oversized plush animal to the teenager. The teenager favored him with a fleeting ecstatic smile. _My god, how does anyone refuse him anything,_ he thought irrelevantly, stunned by the sheer force of it. Then he turned away.

"Kyoya, how'd you do it?" Tamaki hugged his upsized Kuma-chan 2, reveling in the fact that this one was almost two-thirds his size.

"It's a secret," Kyoya answered, while steering the prince away from the game they'd monopolized.

"Mommies don't keep secrets from Daddies," Tamaki chided.

"Very well." A devious, smug expression crossed the Shadow King's face. "I used my powers."

"What?"

"You wanted me to show you, didn't you? And you wanted it so much, too," indicating Kuma-chan 2, "so I thought it would be proper for me to give it to you."

"That's against the rules! We have to go back!" Tamaki immediately spun around and headed towards the sound of ringing bottles.

"Sir? He cheated! You have to take this back, because my de-" Tamaki's words became muffled as Kyoya clapped a hand over his mouth. "- mmgg friengg -" fighting free, he finished. "-cheated!"

The stall owner stared at him in consternation. "Did he?" It was true that no one excelled at his game, since it was rigged for success to be highly improbable. "How's that?"

"Well," Tamaki hesitated, shooting a glance at his demon friend. "I can't give you specifics, but he did, so I can't take this." Looking a bit crestfallen, he attempted to hand over Kuma-chan 2.

The vendor suddenly laughed. "You know, go ahead and keep it. You earned it." Chuckling to himself, he returned to his new customers, ignoring the astonished prince.

High spirits restored, Tamaki continued hugging his bear, which, Kyoya noted, conveniently prevented the prince from hugging him.

The prince peeked over the top of the bear. "I forgot. Thank you, Kyoya."

Suffused with the urge to ruffle his hair in response, the demon didn't see the child until Tamaki had already managed to practically trip over her. Conversely, the little girl had also failed to notice them, since she was too busy staring at the giant fluffy bear in the grip of a certain blond.

"I'm sorry, princess." Tamaki knelt down to face the girl. "Are you okay?"

Her eyes grew big and round, even though she was clearly uninjured. Kyoya nearly facepalmed, as he understood what was about to happen.

She stared at Kuma-chan 2, longing pouring out of her eyes.

"Ah, is it this?" Tamaki proffered the stuffed animal. "It's okay, you can have it if you want -"

The girl, _con-artist,_ Kyoya supplied, attached herself to the bear while Tamaki smiled, then grinned as he patted her head, and took off. _Hopeless_.

Tamaki straightened. His gentle expression never wavered, despite how much he had liked Kuma-chan 2. Billowing dust began to surround them, as some sort of minor explosion occurred close to the center of the fair. Kyoya spotted the mitarashi dango boy sprinting towards it while attempting to keep what looked like a second round of snacks on him, amused.

"Come on, Kyoya! Let's go, soon this area will be crowded with people leaving." He took his best friend's hand and began loping in the opposite direction, forcing Kyoya to follow.

Evenly matched to an effortless tempo, the two slowed as they reached a more secluded area. The ground was uneven, and parts of it were shrouded in mist. The shadows were diffused along with the remaining light in the sky, wavering in the various densities of mist. Interspersed refractions caused an ethereal luminosity to permeate in the valley, picking up a whole spectrum of color from the setting sun.

Two boys stared in wonder at their new surroundings: Tamaki, at the beauty of it, and Kyoya, because he recognized it.

"This is-"

"Where I was born."

"Oh, wow." Murmuring softly, he gazed at Kyoya. "It suits you. It's beautiful."

"Yeah," the demon replied absently, making his way further down. "It's... nice to be here. It feels more right than I thought it would." He settled on the edge of one of the steeper rifts, gracefully dropping to a seat with one leg bent, and the other dangling over. He felt his prince settle beside him, sharing the atmosphere in silent contemplation.

Time passed with only the sound of overlapping breaths, and fleeting zephyrs stirring the mist. Unexpectedly, Kyoya felt a weight on his shoulder, as Tamaki leaned against him, a warm, blond presence on his right. Eventually, Kyoya gave in, and settled his own head against Tamaki's, comfortably completing the pose.

They remained there, neither noticing that the light was fading until it was almost gone. Slowly, they stirred, reluctantly relinquishing the day.

- - 10:00 PM - - -

As they reached the hotel, Tamaki's speech was becoming slightly slurred from sleepiness. They headed up, where two large, fluffy beds awaited them in a shared room. Tamaki used the remainder of his energy investigating the various fixtures in the suite, until Kyoya suggested that he investigate the bath, intending to take his after.

When Kyoya returned from his shower, he found Tamaki sprawled over the covers, blond tresses strewn over white linen. Asleep and at peace, his eyelashes fluttered slightly as he seemed to respond to Kyoya's presence. He decided to tuck the angelic being under the sheets, where he immediately stretched his limbs, then curled up like a cat.

Kyoya went over to the desk, where he set up his materials and began typing, at times succumbing to his desire to drink in the sight of his defenseless prince, until he was ready for bed as well.

He paused on the edge of his own bed, facing Tamaki's. Instead of pressing his lips to that serene brow in silent benediction, he shook his head, and settled into his own bed for the night. _Demons and angels don't mix._

* * *

**AN: **The week almost escaped me! Sorry about that, especially after leaving you with that ... not so well received chapter before. But I would like to get some feedback, so let's make a deal: for every thousand words you read, you leave me one _letter_. I'm averaging about two thousand words per chapter, so here are some suggested responses: ha, ew, aw, eh, w/e, ty, oy, sh, ne? Otherwise, how will I know what was effective? I sort of assume the response is "eh" when no one says anything -.-

Also, my apologies, I thought they would kiss in this chapter as part of the "date" theme, but they didn't want to! I hope it was satisfactory nonetheless... No next chapter title announcement; I'm thinking about changing it. I'm learning so much just by having an audience ^^


	8. A Surprising Discovery!

_Disclaimer: I do not own Ouran High School Host Club, or any other referenced animes. _

* * *

**Ch. 8 A Surprising Discovery!**

The next day unfurled into sunrise as the two boys roused from their dreams. Kyoya allowed a wave of disorientation roll over him as his settings sunk in. An untold number of years of existence led to some confusion sometimes. He cracked an eye open, and a digital display came fuzzily into focus: 10:25.

Tamaki had been up since sunrise. On more than one occasion, he'd thought that Kyoya would awaken, having observed the intermittent stirring and sleepy murmurs. Meanwhile, he lingered in their shared suite, enjoying the sensation of the sunlight against his skin, evaporating the remaining water from his recent shower. His hair dried into soft wisps, forming a lazy halo against the light.

"Ta...ma..ki."

A zombie! An aura of evil and purpleness swarmed towards him, and he scuttled back in immediate alarm. Upon the second inspection, Tamaki spotted familiar glasses behind the ivory towel that was vigorously tousling dark locks. Relief washed over him. He was, like any sane man, healthily afraid of zombies. In the wake of the relief came jubilation, which translated into an unabashed show of affection for his revived friend.

Bounding up with a smile that stretched from side to side, he wrapped his arms around Kyoya's shoulders, hanging off of him with his chin resting on his shoulder.

"Good morning, mon ami. There's breakfast over there - I've already eaten, and it was pretty tasty."

Kyoya turned towards the table. Tamaki's face was in the way.

"Do you mind allowing me to approach the food, or do you plan on staying there while I eat? While you do smell nice, I'd really prefer something a bit more edible."

Laughing, Tamaki unlaced his fingers and released Kyoya. "It's the vanilla - I'm guessing you chose the eucalyptus?" he asked, referring to the various options in bathing supplies. He leaned in to check before stepping away. "It's nice - and it complements me perfectly! We'll make a nice smell together."

Kyoya decided to ignore him. Though smells were a sense that was often neglected. Maybe the Club could do a special on specfic scents, since memories and odors were so strongly linked in human consciousness. Kyoya sighed. Maybe the prince had something there, again.

His fork broke the delicate skin of the egg as he absently ate. Not to mention, the idea of harmonizing scents would work extremely well with the members of the club, since there were low notes and high notes, and warm middles. The yolk poured over the rest of his fare. _Sunny side up, just like him. _God, he was turning into a sap. Somewhere, his demonic sister was laughing at him, the swiftly changing, almost formerly calculating, cold bastard who traded in souls.

Tamaki was observing him curiously. "Do you actually need to eat? I thought that souls were your nourishment. I mean, why eat my soul unless you have to? Can't you just eat...eggs instead?"

"I eat eggs because my human body has the same needs as yours. And who says I eat souls? How would I even eat a soul, Tamaki?" He dabbed his lips with a napkin, waiting for a response.

"Well, I guess you'd just -" Tamaki mimed reaching into Kyoya's chest and pulling out a ball-like soul. "Then open wide," he took the soul-ball and and pretended to chew it before gulping, "and swallow." He looked pleased with his pantomime. "How else would you do it?"

The demon laughed. "No, we don't do that. In our world, the soul is a form of currency. There are many forms a soul can take, but the most important thing to remember is that they are primarily composed of energy. That energy can be drained from the soul, which adds to the power of the demon, or it can be kept in the soul, which retains the form of its former owner. Both forms can be traded; as soul energy, or as a person, for the owner to do with as they please." He began spreading jam on his toast.

"What? How can you be so blase about what is essentially human trafficking?" Tamaki's eyes were huge, and Kyoya could see the disturbance swirling within them.

Unaffected, Kyoya elaborated. "You forget, Tamaki, everyone has a choice when they agree to a deal with a demon. Even you, you said you would pay the price, didn't you?" Not meeting his eyes, he bit into the crunchy confection and continued after receiving a reluctant nod. "It's not all bad, you know. Fuyumi keeps one of her souls around to serve her. " And to play with him, but Tamaki didn't have to know about the other services he provided. "I think she really likes the seaweed haired kid, actually. She's kept him for almost as long as I've been alive, after all."

"So they're in love? How wonderful!" Tamaki swooped in and stole the remaining piece of bread from Kyoya's fingers, popping it into his mouth victoriously. "I'd love to meet her sometime, do you think we could do that?"

"Ah. Sure." Kyoya shook his head. "Anyway, it's not like that. They're not in love, she just bought him to keep her company. He was apparently in love with his young master when he was alive, and made the deal to save him."

Tamaki made a face. "What? Well, there's still hope, since he fell for a master before, maybe he'll do it again." Tamaki suddenly fell down, to Kyoya's consternation.

_Wait, what just happened?_ He shifted to check on Tamaki's status, sitting back when it was apparent that the blond was picking himself up.

"Did you just say "master" ? But that's impossible..." Tamaki levered himself into the adjacent chair, where he looked increasingly bewildered. "But a man and man... how can that be?"

"Ah." Kyoya remembered:

_Tamaki landed on the floor. His mouth gaped as he pointed vigorously at Haruhi and the Lobellians. _

"_What could be gained in a relationship between two women? If that's the case, then why did God create Adam and Eve?" _

It wasn't possible, was it? That the prince had led such a sheltered existence that he didn't know that same sex pairings were feasible?

"But what about Hikaru and Kaoru, Tamaki? You obviously picked up on them." Kyoya readjusted his glasses habitually.

"Yeah, but it's not even physically possible. I mean, sure they're brothers, but more importantly, they have the wrong parts."

The demon was sure that his eyes had turned into swirling animations. He restrained himself from letting his jaw drop and just alternately gaping and pointing spasmodically at Tamaki. Then, he smiled.

Letting his eyes come back into focus, he fastened them on Tamaki's, and chuckled. Ignoring Tamaki's intuitive alarm at the change in behavior, he replied, in a low voice.

"Well then, my prince, it seems that I have something to show you."

* * *

OMAKE

Haruhi: Has anyone noticed that I haven't shown up for a while? Aren't I supposed to be the primary love interest in this story?

Tamaki: You've got it all wrong! Kyoya and I are clearly the main characters in this slash fic, which means that you - *pointing for emphasis* - are the heterosexual supporting cast!

Kyoya: Yes, kindly step behind that line, and we'll get to you when we need a plot device.

**AN: **Agh I didn't update and you guys were all nice enough to review! Thank you ^.^If you haven't already (or even if you have,) go ahead and click review, pretty please?

Haruhi: Next time, Ch. 9. Remedial Lessons for the Prince!

Twins: Can we help?


	9. Remedial Lessons for the Prince!

___Disclaimer: I do not own Ouran High School Host Club, or any other referenced animes. _

___Warning: Voyeurism, light smut._

* * *

**Ch. 9 Remedial Lessons for the Prince!**

Tamaki whimpered. Attempting to move back further was of no use; he couldn't escape. He leaned back on his arms as his legs offered surprisingly little resistance. He couldn't tear his gaze away from Kyoya's devious smile, lurking behind those reflective lenses. Watching as Kyoya slowly raised his hand upward, his world melted away to the sound of a harsh snap.

They were standing in large endless space with a black board. Kyoya was dressed like a professor, with a piece of chalk in his hand. _Chalk instead of dry erase? I guess he really is from a long time ago._

"Wait! What are we doing here? What is this place?" Tamaki demanded.

Kyoya tapped the board reprovingly. "Now, now, settle down and we'll get started for the day." He glared until Tamaki took a seat. There were no chairs, so he simply sat on the ground.

"Very good. Now, the things you're about to see today are going to remedy some stunning gaps in your social education." Kyoya pointed to some random graphs and spouted off numerous statistics about homosexuals in Japan versus those in France. "Yes, Tamaki."

The blond put his hand down. "What are we going to see? Are we there yet?"

"I can see that we're going to have to do something drastic." Kyoya put down the chalk, and the boards (or were they graphs) disappeared. "Come on, Tamaki."

At Kyoya's gesture, he dusted himself off and went to stand by his friend-tutor.

The world swirled, and reformed into some very familiar territory. The were standing in the middle of a street, near some fabric stalls and high-end confection shops. A car came roaring directly towards them; Tamaki yelped and dropped to the ground with his hands over his head. The car passed.

"Come on, Tamaki, try to keep up."

He stood back up, unharmed. So they were unseen spectators today. This was going to be fun. He trotted over to where the demon was waiting impatiently, all his previous fears forgotten.

There was no sound. All he could hear was Kyoya, who was in the middle of an explanation that he was missing.

"- that we're here to see. " He gestured at an open doorway, and Tamaki stepped through unthinkingly.

"Oh! You two are here! Fancy that," Tamaki said, greeting the twins, one of whom simply continued his actions of pinning and redraping the fabric on the other. "Oh, right, they can't hear me." He took a step back, then suddenly lunged at one of them, passing right through without a disturbance.

"Can't I affect anything?" Tamaki asked plaintively.

"No. I took away that option to keep you from doing anything stupid. I can, though."

"Well then, act like a ghost and scare them so that I can laugh at them. Please?"

Kyoya picked up a pin from the physical world, and threw it at Tamaki. Predictably, it passed straight through as they watched. Unfortunately, it somehow managed to scratch one of the twins.

"Oh well, it's just Hikaru."

"Wouldn't you have said that if it was Kaoru too?" Tamaki asked.

"Yeah," he acknowledged, offhandedly.

Tamaki examined them both, making note of the different hair parts and clothing to tell them apart, since it seemed like the twins were the subject of study for the day.

Kaoru gasped as he noticed a thin line of red on his brother, brushed it softly with his fingertips, then ran off to find a tiny bandaid. He persuaded Hikaru to sit while he administered to the "wound," only satisfied when it was safely covered.

Then, instead of allowing Hikaru to rise, Kaoru slid into his lap, running his hands up along the sides of his neck and into his hair. Hikaru found himself with his hands full of his twin, which he took full advantage of, resting his hands on his hips, and pressing downward while grinding himself upward. Kaoru's mouth opened as he exhaled, settling his mouth over his brother's as Hikaru brought them closer.

"Whoa, wait! We're not in Host Club! I didn't pay to see this, and I don't want to either!"

"It'll be over soon."

The collar of the pinned fabric was slipping down the nape of his neck, exposing a fair amount of Kaoru's torso. Each breath he took was visible, as was his twin's delight at the loosening garment. Starting at the ear, he trailed his way down to Kaoru's neck, completely engrossed in his ministrations, with Kaoru now writhing against him.

Suddenly, Hikaru started and and snapped his head back from where he had been licking at Kaoru's collarbone. Kaoru also turned to look at the dividing screen, and they both sprang upwards and commenced rapidly adjusting their clothing in an effort to remain discrete and hide their recent activities.

The shop's proprietor poked her head around the screen and said something. The two boys nodded in response, which she seemed satisfied by, leaving to head to the register.

Tamaki was attempting to act a lot less affected than he actually was. Admirably managing to hold his voice steady, he queried, "So I take it that it's not just an act?"

Kyoya seemed to be pleased at his progress. Perhaps there was still hope for the prince after all. "That's very good, Tamaki. What else can you tell me?"

"I guess that the Hitachiins are actually in a relationship, and seem to be pretty fixated on each other, and probably always have been." For some reason, the demon's approval seemed to have a stabilizing effect on his combination of shock and hormones. He began to take note of his surroundings again.

Kyoya nodded. "Yes, precisely. You must have picked up on that subconsciously, and incorporated it into the 'Brotherly Love' act. You should listen to your instincts more, they're pretty accurate."

By now, the twins had folded the fabric and paid for it at the counter, leaving the shop. They headed to their next destination, oblivious to the invisible duo they had in tow.

It was late in the afternoon when Tamaki realized that something was missing. "How come I'm not hungry or anything?" It was way past his lunchtime, and he should have been starving.

Kyoya kept walking behind the twins. "Because your body's still going about its day without you. I'm making both of our physical forms travel back without us. We'll go pick them up at the train station later."

Now that Tamaki was aware of the actual status of the twins' relationship, he didn't miss the way Kaoru would stretch languidly, provocatively presenting his lithe body to his brother, or the way Hikaru's eyes darkened with desire, his gaze wandering over Kaoru as avidly as his hands had earlier.

Eventually, Tamaki noticed a random kid skulking around on the edges of his vision. He seemed to have stars in his eyes everytime he looked at the Hitachiins, and Tamaki was starting to worry.

"Hey, Kyoya, don't you think we should tell them that they have a stalker? What if he kills them or something?"

The kid was waving his arms and saying something to two girls, who were apparently trying to dissuade him from committing a crime. Stalking is illegal in most places.

The demon shrugged, unconcerned. "Don't worry, that kid's just obsessed with symmetry. It's harmless."

It was unsurprising that he should know about the stalker already. Tamaki wondered whether he had one too, though he was sure that it would be a benign one, since he had Kyoya looking out for him. Actually, he was certain he had stalkers; he had exceptional looks, after all. His mind drifted as they strolled, disregarding the multitude of passersby they would've bumped into by now, had they been comprised of solid flesh.

"Why are we still following them? It's obvious that these two are an item, and isn't that what you wanted me to learn?" Tamaki continued. "They hold hands, and they kiss, and they enjoy each other's company. It's very charming and everything, but I'm starting to think that we should get back to our bodies. I mean, who knows what they're doing without us. I've never been away from it for this long."

"I know, because I'm still monitoring it. Besides, you're still missing the mechanics lesson," Kyoya replied.

"Mechanics?"

They followed the twins around while they played pranks on people and flirted with each other on the way home from their errands, until they finally reached their room and shut the door upon reaching their house, leaving all four of them in a room with one bed.

Even though it wasn't deep in the night yet, Kyoya knew the twins wouldn't disappoint them. Sure enough, the two set their things down and began unwrapping their purchases, putting each one away. As Hikaru finished opening all of his items, he turned to his twin and slipped his hand under the shirt, gliding his hand up his abdomen and catching the hem, intent on unwrapping his brother.

Kyoya smirked in satisfaction. "Welcome to sex ed, part II." Even though he wasn't sure if Tamaki had truly mastered part I, male x female, that was of no particular concern to him, since he derived no benefit from it.

Kaoru returned the favor in kind, swiftly ripping off the layered tanks Hikaru was wearing before moving downwards. With a single unzipping, his twin's pants hung low around his hips, forming a deep v that perfectly framed the bulge inside. He eased the remaining outer fabric down, grazing fevered flesh, as his lips followed the downward motion and trailed gentle sucking kisses down the exposed navel. When he reached the taut cotton, he mouthed the tip of his brother's erection teasingly, simultaneously lowering his head and raising his tailbone invitingly.

Hikaru's mouth opened in a silent groan, as he fisted his fingers through Kaoru's hair in frustration, drawing him upwards before throwing him back down on the sheets, limbs splayed as he sucked and bit at every inch of unveiled flesh, leaving wet spots all over the planes of his twin's body.

Tamaki clapped a hand over his eyes. "My virgin eyes.." He groaned. Kyoya was looking far too entertained by his discomfort for his peace of mind.

"I'll make you repeat the lesson if you don't learn it properly." A pleasant voice wrapped around an uncompromising promise, as the demon stepped behind the prince and removed the hand covering his eyes.

Opening his eyes, Tamaki was faced with an advanced love scene in progress_._ Clothing was strewn everywhere but on the two naked bodies, and the identical appearance kept Tamaki from telling which limbs belonged to whom for a long moment. For that matter, without the clothing, and with their hair completely mussed, he wasn't even entirely certain which was which anymore. But for the sake of convenience, he'd just assume that Hikaru was the one who was currently between Kaoru's legs, thankfully obscuring the full view with his lean back.

He watched as Hikaru ran his hands along the backs of Kaoru's legs, directing them upwards, until he closed his grip around the ankles and settled them over his shoulders. The redhead leaned forward over his shuddering twin, and his hips began to snap forward rhythmically as Kaoru writhed, clawing at the sheets before reaching for his brother.

"I - I get it now! It's possible!" Tamaki squeaked in a high pitched voice, backing up into Kyoya, who had seemingly forgotten to release him. "Can we -"

The two bodies were melded together, with the bottom one pressed up against the upper in a raised horizontal. Kaoru arched his back even further, then craned his neck around to leave another dark red bite on Hikaru's shoulder, provoking him into increasingly forceful thrusting. His eyelids fluttered and his lips were parted as he shaped Hikaru's name, moments before Hikaru froze at the apex of his thrust, rapturous as he joined his twin in climax.

They detangled; and Hikaru rested his sweat soaked brow in the center of Kaoru's chest, the rest of him simply sprawled across the other half of the bed. Kaoru stroked his brother's hair with his own eyes closed, basking in the aftermath.

Kyoya's voice sounded behind Tamaki ear, almost causing him to jump as he realized that he had been pressed against his friend this entire time. "Yes, we can leave now." Calming the prince with a hand against his back, he prompted Tamaki to move forward a bit, breaking him out of his stupor and allowing him to step away.

Taking one last look at the sated twins, he snapped his fingers, and they arrived back at the station to meet their bodies. Two collisions of spirit and flesh later, the prince and the shadow king were reincarnated, reinstated in their respective bodies, much to Tamaki's relief.

As a reflection of his emotional state, Kyoya noted that the color was still high on Tamaki's cheeks, and his eyes were bright and a bit glazed.

"Tamaki?" He pressed the back of his hand against Tamaki's face. Concerned eyes sought violet ones. "Are you okay?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah, sorry."

Another lingering look. "You look pretty shaken up. I suppose that was a little too much at once." He trailed off, thoughtfully. "Let's go home, Tamaki. I'll call a car, okay?"

Seemingly soothed, Tamaki's spirit mellowed, and he let Kyoya direct him to the exit until he regained his footing. Part of it was simply that it was disorienting to be incorporeal one moment, then fully physical the next. Of course, he wondered whether it had been truly necessary to use two people he saw everyday as the main components of his lesson. Regardless, they reached the mansion in no time at all, and Tamaki suspected that Kyoya had encouraged the driver to make good time on the drive back.

They said their goodnights and went to bed, each perfectly aware that a single, unlocked door separated them. The day's events had left Tamaki feeling unsettled, and more than a little nervous. He tried to forget about it, but that night, it was all he thought about. That, and a pair of amused, dark eyes.

Deep within the demon's lair, Kyoya stared up at the ceiling. Rewound images of Tamaki throughout the last two days kept replaying themselves in his mind's eye, preventing him from reaching true sleep. He had grown addicted to the Tamaki's presence, and it was time to admit something to himself. He buried his face into his pillow.

* * *

Tamaki: How could you be so cruel?

Kyoya: I've been taking this course in Comedic Sociopathy, and you're the perfect person to practice it on.

Tamaki: Can't you practice something else? Anything?

Tamaki: (realizing what he said) I mean, like being nice! or baking...

**AN:** *thwacks Hikaru and Kaoru* Did you two fiends scare away any of my readers? Shoo, you two aren't the stars of this show. How will I ever convince them to press the _review_ button if you don't behave yourselves?

Mori: Coming soon, Ch. 10. Kyoya Makes His Move!

Honey: I knew Kyo-chan was teaching Tama-chan about boys for a reason...


	10. Kyoya Makes His Move!

___Disclaimer: I do not own Ouran High School Host Club, or any other referenced animes. _

___Warning: light smut, cursing._

* * *

**Ch.10 Kyoya Makes His Move!**

_I want him._ It was undeniable. It was 11am and Kyoya had just come fully to his senses in the middle of his second morning class, but he'd spent the entire night and half the morning dazedly thinking about Tamaki. Otherwise known as his human master. Otherwise known as that blond idiot that he couldn't entirely wrap his mind around, though he did intend to wrap himself around the boy. Before the day was out, Tamaki would be his.

The demon gave his prince a long look that went unnoticed by the object of his attention, as well as everyone else in the room. Discretion was one of his best skills. He could still recall the impression of Tamaki's body, the musk of his heat whenever he was agitated. It was intoxicating even in memory. Even now, as the blond wrote his notes with a practiced, precise hand, he admired the dexterity of those elegant fingertips, and the strength contained within them through repeated contact with piano keys.

He'd never actually chosen to be with a human before, without being compelled to by a contract. There had never been one that significantly interested him, and demons generally chose to fulfill the terms of their contract as soon as possible, since there was a risk involved. In the demon world, their true forms reflected their innermost selves. It wasn't always a literal interpretation, since demons are generally masters of interpretations, functioning rather like the attorneys of the supernatural world. The longer Kyoya remained in this form, the truer all the assumed characteristics became; after all, the contract would be too skewed towards the demon's benefit if the master had no possibility to cause a lasting effect on the servant. The few demons who had spent a too many lifetimes in service to human masters had become jumbled creatures on the brink of madness, but still, they too kept the information a secret from the humans.

The professor rambled on, unheeded by the top members of the class. It was a good thing they were obviously gifted and could afford to put in less effort than the rest of the students. By now, even Tamaki had noticed that Kyoya was bound to be fully awake by now, but still hadn't made any effort to appear particularly attentive, which was at odds with the typically deferential teen's image.

Kyoya, however, was too busy with his thoughts. Then again, those demons had only lingered in their masters' company due to ineptitude, and he was anything but inept. He would taste Tamaki in the flesh before the contract ended. Based on the rate at which Haruhi was warming to the prince, he was better off doing it sooner rather than later, before the contract was fulfilled, his association with his master along with it. _After all, why let such luscious fruit wither without tasting it first? _ His course of action had been set, and he was ready. Tamaki was ready. But they were in class. Then, class ended.

. . .

All throughout club, Tamaki wondered what had his friend so preoccupied. It was like something had sharpened his interest like a bloodhound detecting a scent, yet at the same time, it was countered by a fuzzy dreaminess. The combination cancelled each other out enough for his friend to pass as normal, but Tamaki could easily see the difference. Every now and then, the demon's eyes would dart towards him, gliding over the arch of his brow, the edge of his jaw, the slope of his nose, before slipping away like water on glass, retreating inwards before repeating the process.

. . .

Kyoya's pulse quickened. Somehow, they were finally approaching Suoh Mansion #2. Soon: locked doors, quiet rooms, and no one but Tamaki. And him. Resisting urges that would cause him to tip his hand before attaining proper seclusion, he tried to remember how his body normally moved when it wasn't busy trying to stare at his host as he scooted off leather seats onto leather soles.

Hallway upon hallway passed. Did this house have to be so damned big? But they were almost there: the door to their shared rooms.

Tamaki reached to open the door, only to find its swing impeded by a palm resting on the edge, over door and doorframe. He turned to find his friend inches away, having dropped all pretenses of a platonic dynamic.

"Tamaki," he breathed. It was involuntary, his exhalation of the desired's name. His intentions as he caged the prince against the door were clear, and it didn't take long for Tamaki to respond to it.

The blond smiled; the same smile that had dazzled countless others before, and would again, except this one held a spark of knowledge - that even his demon would succumb to his charms. It was what he had wanted ever since learning that it was possible, and he pushed away slightly from the door to encircle Kyoya's waist, running his hands up his back, to his shoulder blades, until he had the demon equally trapped in his grasp.

It was unknown which of them moved first. All Tamaki knew was that in the next moment, he was drowning under Kyoya's mouth, as he clawed at his shoulders and returned the kiss with equal fervor. He felt the demon's tongue lazily trail along the sides of his own before twining sensuously around. And slowly, Tamaki learned reciprocate, until they were both breathless, and Tamaki had to extend a hand back to keep from falling over.

He groped backwards blindly, until he found something - a doorknob - which he inadvertently twisted, landing both boys inside as the door opened. Kyoya landed on top of Tamaki, his face thudding against a hard chest before he could wonder whether Tamaki was alright.

The sound of delighted laughter from over his head answered the question, and he quirked an eyebrow in amusement. "Really, Tamaki. Do you do that to all the people who kiss you?"

Tamaki giggled. "I've never actually- ah," he said eloquently, as Kyoya raised himself on his elbows above Tamaki before lowering his head to suck at the base of his neck, leaving dark red marks until the prince's breathless laughter caught in his throat, becoming uneven as small sounds escaped from his mouth.

Returning to those parted lips, he slipped his tongue inside, stroking against Tamaki until he couldn't resist subtly rubbing his hard member against the body trapped beneath him. He freed a hand to undo Tamaki's shirt, sliding his hand under to find a well toned body, until he couldn't decide whether to remain at the blond's mouth, or move downward.

At the next pause for breath, he shifted, one hand's fingers intertwined with Tamaki's as he watched the blond, flushed and tousled, and looking altogether ready to be fucked. He lightly brushed his lips against Tamaki's again before redirecting his attention to the taut body below him, tense with unfulfilled desire. He flicked Tamaki's nipples with the tip of his tongue, lightly scraping his teeth against it in a gentle tug. His thumb traced a hard line all the way down to his belly button, making Tamaki arch his back to intensify the contact.

The whimpers grew more insistent, the pressure in their clasped hands tightened as Kyoya went lower, and Tamaki sent pleading glances at the demon until Kyoya deigned to look at him again. "Please, Kyoya. Please." Kyoya noticed that his right eye seemed to be glowing faintly from a briefly visible contract mark within the iris.

_Shit._ He paused as Tamaki panted, white shirt parted to reveal the planes of his smooth torso. The blond gazed up at him, disheveled and devastatingly alluring, and _wanting_.

Tamaki was his for the taking.

* * *

OMAKE

Hikaru: Looks like the boss is going to lose his innocence soon.

Kaoru: It's about time. I'm getting bored already.

Tamaki: It's not all about sex, you know.

Kyoya: Is that so?

**AN: **Need a Karma boost? Click review, and instant good karma will be yours! Ummm... yeah. More plot coming up. Actually, I have no idea if people prefer plot or pr0n. Come for the porn, stay for the plot, maybe?

Mori: Next time, Ch. 11. Tamaki's First Time!

Haruhi: Y-you spoke...


	11. Tamaki's First Time!

_Disclaimer: I do not own Ouran High School Host Club, or any other referenced animes. _

_Warning: smut, language. To skip smut, start after the second page break._

* * *

**Ch. 11 Tamaki's First Time!**

Seeing his partner's hesitation, Tamaki wiggled his way into a more upright position. He led his friend to his bedroom, where he slowly shifted the shirt from his shoulders, revealing enough edible looking fair skin that Kyoya nearly devoured him on the spot. And then he lowered his hands onto Kyoya lightly pushing him against the pillows, and _crawled_ up his length, every motion providing a better view than before.

He slid his tongue past wet lips, sharing one breath, then the next. As he straddled the demon, he changed the inadvertent contact into fully deliberate, utterly arousing, sensation as he shifted his hips so that their fronts pressed together. He ran one of his hands under the shirt and started undoing buttons, zippers, and in no time, Kyoya was wearing a bunch of clothing that hid nothing, with the exception of his underwear.

Stop. He had to stop. But for the life of him, Kyoya was having trouble remembering why. The contract, Haruhi, something about the beautiful blond on his lap. The beautiful blond with the flushed lips that he just had to capture, putting his hands low on Tamaki's slender hips and kissing him urgently.

Tamaki began to let muted moans emerge from his throat as he inadvertently bucked in eagerness. The image of Tamaki, shirt dangling from his wrists, riding him in tight black pants, and panting with lust was too much. He couldn't think straight - neither of them could, so he reached down and unzipped Tamaki, causing him to moan involuntarily as his erection pushed outwards and the fabric parted. He stroked the head with his thumb, caressing it and causing Tamaki to shudder beautifully.

An undeniable urge to taste the prince overcame him, and he scooted downward, between the blond's legs, lightly caressing the shaft with his fingertips, and he didn't stop until his head was inches away from full contact.

"Stay still, Tamaki," he cautioned, as he raised his head to lick his way up along the underside, before parting his lips to take Tamaki fully into his mouth. Above him, Tamaki was trembling, repressing his urge to writhe as he obeyed the command his friend had given him. There was no way that he would ever hurt Kyoya, so he did not jerk his hips forward, even when Kyoya began to quicken his pace below him, causing waves of ecstasy to roll over him.

It was adorable; the blond had no idea what to do with his hands, which were completely unrestrained. At times, he wrapped them around himself as Kyoya's lips and tongue sought out the most responsive areas and he cried out, and other times, he fastened them in his hair, or gripped his own thigh in an effort to keep his lower half relatively still. It was a shame that he wouldn't have a physical record of his lovely prince, straining, muscles shifting under immaculate skin, and practically touching himself, so he made sure to watch every moment, memorizing the details.

When Tamaki was close to peaking, Kyoya could feel it. Parts of his glasses were steamed over, but now wasn't the time to remove them, not when he could see Tamaki's head hanging as he panted as he dropped his weight onto his hands, eyelashes fluttering, shaking against the stimulus to release.

"Hnn, ah, Kyoya," he breathed, as his friend once again took him deep into the back of his throat, hands spreading his cheeks and rubbing against his back entrance. "Kyoya!" he cried, causing the demon to look up right as he came, a flash of purple meeting his gaze before fluids managed to obscure his vision by landing at least partially on his glasses.

The blond collapsed onto his side, leaving the two on their backs.

"Tamaki." After a moment, Kyoya laughed wryly, eyes closed. His brain was firing endorphins simply by experiencing that. "You really are beautiful. The most beautiful thing I've ever seen in all my years of living, and I want you." His delivery was simple, since it was besides the point. He would have to lose the prince, for now. Getting Tamaki off had barely taken the edge off, but his mind was slightly clearer. He was going to play for the long run.

Tamaki rolled to face him, eyes widening at his appearance. "Oh Kyo- I'm so sorry about..." He plucked the glasses off and cleaned them for his friend, licking his face and kissing him in appreciation. "Thank you, that was... " He made an approving sound that went straight to Kyoya's groin, unable to fully express how it made him feel otherwise.

The responsive twitching of Kyoya's member caught his attention out of the corner of his eye, and the blond followed where it led. He placed his palms on either side, working his way down until his fingers wrapped around the base and his lips closed around the head and more, giving prolonged sucks while trailing his tongue up the back seam.

Somewhere in the deep recesses of the demon's mind, someone was still working on the issue of needing to stop, because he wanted to keep Tamaki after the contract ended. But he was still missing a piece, and all his thoughts were scattering to the wind as Tamaki's other hand began massaging his balls, and his cock was being introduced to the depths of Tamaki's throat.

The kid was a natural. He had Kyoya writhing in no time at all, groaning out his name as he ground desperately against the bed, only to have Tamaki pull back, giving languid licks as he watched his friend intently. Eventually, Tamaki brought him to the edge and took him over, pumping his length and sucking hard, letting him spend deep inside his mouth.

* * *

Kyoya sighed in contentment, basking in the bliss from the afterglow. The blond came up and nestled at Kyoya's side, idly tracing the contours of the demon's flesh.

"Tell me about it." He said, in response to the sigh. He kissed Kyoya lightly. "I'm good, right?"

Lifting a boneless hand to stroke Tamaki's hair, he raised an eyebrow at him. "Yes. Moron." He affected a woeful tone into his voice. "And here I thought it was supposed to be your first time."

Tamaki grinned. "It was. It is." He gave a sucking kiss to the nearest nipple. "But I was _born_ for love," he said, overdramatically. "Besides," he continued as he quickly trailed more kisses down the demon's ribcage, "how could a prince like me be lacking in any aspect?"

Kyoya growled and flipped him over, so that his hands would be free to play over that delicious body. "Yes, Tamaki, you _are_ perfect." He made sure to add enough of a sardonic edge to the statement to cover how unwontedly genuine the sentiment was.

"Please. You'll miss me when I'm gone," the host replied playfully. He spread his legs slightly in invitation, allowing the demon full access in anticipation.

Kyoya felt a pang in his chest. There was no way he was going to allow that to happen. He had to stop this now, because he wanted more, more than a momentary diversion in the course of his long life. He wanted to keep this one even after the contract ended, into the long years of forever.

Any further than they had gone already, and he would replace Haruhi as Tamaki's primary love interest. And once that happened, Tamaki would refuse to continue pursuing Haruhi on an ethical basis, leaving Kyoya two options: remain in an unfulfilled contract, at the end of which Tamaki's soul would be lost to him forever, or break it and and immediately relinquish his claim. Either way, he would never get Tamaki in perpetuity, and that was unacceptable.

_Fuck_. _How do I stop here?_ Was it too late to just run away?

His hands stilled. "Tamaki.."

Violet eyes watched him, warm and patient.

He looked into those trusting eyes and faltered, looking away. He had to come up with something. "Don't you think that your first time should be with someone you love, who loves you back? I.. I don't know if this is quite right..." He was sure Tamaki hadn't fully named the emotions he felt for his best friend, and he had to make sure that they fulfilled the contract before that happened.

He took full advantage of Tamaki's bewilderment. "Maybe you should be saving yourself for someone..." He was lying. He was lying through his teeth and none of it was logically sound, but he continued speaking.

It didn't matter what words he said as he detached himself from Tamaki, buttoning up his pants and combing his fingers through his hair. There was nothing that would change the reality of the way he stood at the side of his bed, hesitating, the silences that fell in the gaps between all the bullshit. The way he gave Tamaki a last, unreadable look before giving the blond a lingering, regretful kiss on the cheek and walking out of the room, doing his best not to slink out with his tail between his legs.

Tamaki couldn't say anything. Usually, his friend made so much sense, but right now, his words and actions were blurring and leading him to his only conclusion. The drop from the previous high was so sudden that it didn't seem real. The demon didn't want him? That was fine. Tamaki had summoned him to win Haruhi's heart, and he would do so, fulfilling his side of the contract so that the demon would no longer be bound to him. To someone he didn't want.

Staring after his friend as Kyoya retreated from the room, a different kind of heat coursed through his veins, introducing a new emotion: anger.

* * *

OMAKE

Tamaki: Did I get you? I got you, didn't I!

Kyoya: Who let this _moron_ name the chapters?

Tamaki: Hey! Kyoy- *ahem* We have to increase our ratings! If false hope is what it takes, then I will eat it!

Kyoya: What our Host President means is that we will stop at nothing to make sure you review. *scary shiny glasses*

**AN: **That's underhanded, Kyoya! I hope you didn't mind the small troll, since they didn't actually go...well, all the way. They will eventually, since I had to upgrade the rating to an M now. I hope this chapter made sense...

Tamaki: Next time, Ch. 12. Jealousy, Idiots, and the Host Club!

Mori: Hm.


	12. Jealousy, Idiots, and the Host Club!

___Disclaimer: I do not own Ouran High School Host Club, or any other referenced animes. _

* * *

**Ch. 12: Jealousy, Idiots, and the Host Club!**

It wasn't that Tamaki was glaring balefully at him at every turn. It wasn't that Tamaki was even picking fights with him, or being especially surly. He could've handled that. Tamaki, the real Tamaki, had simply disappeared, as far as he was concerned.

He was still just as enthusiastic and genuine in his interactions with the rest of the host club, and just as idiotically charmng to the girls as always, but something would change in the moments when he would come face to face with Kyoya. A split second of stillness, repressed energy, that Kyoya couldn't even be certain he witnessed, except for the fact that it had happened about thirty times already. One moment, and then Tamaki had an easy grin back on his face, turning quickly to someone else, chatting about class, food, the fundamental basics of beauty - anything.

Unfortunately, they had almost every class together, since his schedule was modeled after Tamaki's. Kyoya tapped his pencil a little faster, a physical tic that was quickly becoming habit, just like the adjusting of his purely decorative glasses. He could feel the glance Tamaki threw to the pencil, and tried not to feel miffed. It was certainly more than he'd gotten all day.

In the absence of Tamaki's attention, Kyoya could feel a sense of loss. Day after day, Tamaki looked to him with glowing eyes and vivid plans, while his best friend provided ever indulgent thoughts and feedback. They were constantly engaged in one form of interaction or another, though the last interaction definitely fell into the 'another' category. The practiced focus that Tamaki demanded daily left Kyoya at loose ends; there was nothing to occupy his thoughts but more Tamaki, who was the reason there was nothing to focus on. His daily life revolved around the blond, and now he was just sort of drifting without a gravitational pull. It was very cyclical, and the demon hadn't been trapped in such useless thought cycles for a long time.

It would have to change. He made phone calls between classes, sent emails during class, and generally completely ignored his current occupation in favor of his true directive, but soon there was nothing to do but wait, and that was something he'd never excelled at.

Tamaki was conversing amiably with Hikaru as they walked through the doors of the music room. The occasional leaf drifted to the ground, brown and brittle. Gnarled roots and an open sky reached above them, shaded by a canopy of organically interlocking branches. Snow covered the ground, yet they couldn't step on it, and it didn't melt.

At Hikaru's quizzical gaze, Kyoya shrugged, and said "lights," as if that explained everything. Tamaki knew, though. After all, he didn't have anything planned for today, and there was only one other person who would or could have done this. He couldn't help how his eyes strayed to him, but he did make sure that his searching gaze continued onward, even after it had found the object.

Kyoya felt that damn blond's eyes wandering over him, past him, uneasily flowing around him like an obstacle. This wasn't over yet.

As Haruhi stumbled in last, he announced the day's theme. "I'm sure you all have some basic knowledge in Nordic mythology. This is Yggdrasil, behind me, and everyone can be one of the gods today. The role of Baldur, the fairest and brightest of the pantheon, goes to Tamaki, whose mother, Frigg, managed to compell every object on earth not to hurt him, except mistletoe. That's Haruhi. Honey, I'm going to give you a hammer, so you can be Thor, and Mori, you get an eyepatch, so that you can be Odin. Hikaru, you're Freyr, Freya's twin. Even in mythology, you two are already incestuous, though Kaoru will have to cross dress so that Haruhi isn't always the only one."

The twins were already rubbing their hands with glee, even though they'd known about this, having had to prepare the costumes. Honey just wanted the hammer, and damn if it wouldn't be cute, too. Mori looked rather dashing with the eyepatch, next to Haruhi, who looked as appropriate as ever in women's clothing. Tamaki was trying, but a bit of his displeasure was being eroded away by his excitement in a role that truly suited him, as well as the implied compliment that his vice president had given him by casting him in it.

As the club moved into full swing, Tamaki was constantly nudging the temperature of the room down in order to compensate for the overheated girls, who were tantalized by the innocuously shifting wardrobe the Host Club was sporting today. He tended to be a bit overzealous though, and Kyoya would have to head to the back to adjust the thermostat to keep them all from freezing to death.

Then the prince would return to charming his clients, one at a time. He produced flowers for each lady, causing them to blush in turn, giggling incessantly. He gave them his attention the way the summer sun produces heat: almost indiscriminately, but still almost unbearable. Eventually, Kyoya couldn't watch anymore, returning to his pretense of keeping the books or whatever the latest theory on his scribblings were. He'd decided that he was in no mood to entertain guests today, but watching Tamaki was making it worse. He turned his attention to the twins, looking for a distraction.

Hikaru knelt on the ground, in front of a seated Kaoru, playfully entreating him in his role as Freyr. "I will give you five factories, which will mass produce 500 suits a day, if you will have me, dear sister."

Upon Kaoru's tremulous refusal, he shifted, capturing a hand delicately, roughening his tone with a tinge of urgency. "Then I will light a candle in your name every day, until you come to me."

Kaoru turned away, tilting his chin upwards so that twin arms could wrap around him, drawing them closer. They were close enough for him to feel the warm breath from the words brushing his neck, causing him to shiver slightly.

Tamaki had been sneaking glances at Kyoya, secretly satisfied that his demon couldn't seem to keep himself from watching him. But then, he saw that his friend was paying a lot of attention to the twins, as if he was waiting for something. And then it hit him: even if he wasn't the one that Kyoya was interested in, it was best friend's right to decide. He had no right to feel angry, because regardless of any otherworldly contract, the demon didn't belong to him. He sighed. That didn't particularly make him want to talk to Kyoya, though.

"Or, if you continue to refuse me... I will go to the Black Magic Club and curse you; one for every day you continue to spurn me!" Hikaru's grasp on his brother tightened subtly, secretly earnest, startling Kaoru into facing him again.

Slightly breathless, Kaoru implored his twin, "Hikaru, you wouldn't do that, would you?"

"Of course not, if you'll be mine..." Leaning forward, he pressed into Kaoru, laying a hand against his face.

"Hi-Hikaru..."

Kyoya allowed the girls to swoon for a few moments so that his timing would be perfect, then stepped up to make his announcement. Appropriately garbed as Loki, the architect of Baldur's demise, he had gathered a variety of objects in the room, one of which was mistletoe, which had a magnet in it that corresponded with the one hidden in Tamaki's clothing.

"The gods liked to play a game, which I hope you ladies will join us in playing. We won't pin Mori to the tree, but we _are_ going to throw things at Tamaki." Ignoring the blond's indignant yelp, he continued. "Because Frigg-Haruhi made everything harmless to Baldur, they liked to throw things at him, because nothing would hurt him. Hosts, go ahead and take a box each, and Tamaki can stand in the center."

He gave them all a meaningful look that they could all read: Don't hit Tamaki. Mori nodded solemnly, while Honey gave his customary pink cloud producing smile. The twins knew what would happen if they didn't cooperate, and he made sure to give Haruhi the mistletoe with the magnet inside.

At first, Tamaki amused them all by attempting to dodge each projectile, but when each one missed him by a wide margin, he caught on and stood heroically, causing the girls to ooh and ahh. It was a little cruel on his part, but Kyoya thought that he would be forgiven the tiny bit of revenge for his treatment by what was upcoming, and because of the whole cosplay idea. It was also completely worth it, because for the first time, Tamaki made eye contact with him, to express his mock umbrage, looking away before it broke into a smile, in response to the smirk tugging at the corner of Kyoya's mouth.

Finally, it was Haruhi's turn to throw the mistletoe. She tossed it lightly, obviously intending for it to miss, just like all the other missiles, when, drawn by the corresponding magnet in Tamaki's clothing, it hit straight on, and stayed there, causing everyone to gasp, and a few ladies to squeak in fright. Snow fell slowly to the ground, settling around the spellbound audience.

Tamaki looked down in surprise, then laid the back of his hand against his forehead, swaying. His mouth moved, saying something indiscernible, then he slowly dropped down, simulating his final rest.

Kyoya looked towards Haruhi, raising an eyebrow to prompt her to play her part. To her credit, she caught on quickly. He had a feeling that he would have liked her, if this contract weren't in the way. She rushed towards the fallen prince, cradling his head as the girls crowded closer, sobbing over the death of her beloved son. Kyoya had no doubt that Tamaki was giddy under there, out of sight. He looked away.

By the time club hours were over, all their visitors were worn out from the magnificent modified Pietà, and speculation was running rampant about whether they could request Tamaki and Haruhi as a duo. It was unsurprising to Kyoya, since he had planned it this way, but even he had to grudgingly admit that they made a lovelier picture than even he had anticipated.

But at the very least, the ladies weren't the only ones satisfied by the events of the evening. Tamaki sighed happily as he climbed into the car, looking out the window as Kyoya followed. The demon studied Tamaki for a moment, then looked out his own window as they began moving towards home.

* * *

OMAKE

Kyoya: Well, that was a pretty good day at the club, wasn't it?

Tamaki: *pouting* It would have been even more authentic if you had let me turn the thermostat down more so that the climate would be right...

Kyoya: Do you want your guests to die of hypothermia?

Tamaki: That would have been solved by the kotatsu!

**AN:** I'm so happy you're all still with me! And the reviews make me giddy for at least 15 min each, lyk srsly.

Kyoya: Next time, Ch. 13. The Resignation of Haruhi Fujioka!

Haruhi: ... resignation? That's ambiguous.


	13. The Resignation of Haruhi Fujioka!

___Disclaimer: I do not own Ouran High School Host Club, or any other referenced animes._

* * *

**Ch. 13: The Resignation of Haruhi Fujioka!**

Kyoya deserved to be nominated for sainthood. The only reason he wouldn't get it was because he was already a demon. Otherwise, he was absolutely certain that he would have been a shoe-in. Between Tamaki's deliberate silences, which he always bowed to, and Tamaki's nearly catatonic state at the thought of Haruhi becoming a mob wife, his heavenly virtues were getting an upgrade. So far, his patience, diligence, temperance, and even chastity had been tested, and he was discovering an embarrassing wealth of virtue for his demonic dignity.

He spared a glance for the blond in the corner. He was certain that the same five synapses were firing on loop inside that vacuous cranium, but couldn't muster up anything more intense than a mild exasperation.

The thing about Tamaki was that no matter how flighty he was, or what a complete idiot he made of himself, he gave himself over completely to what he was feeling. At the moment, that meant he was busy shooting Kyoya puppy dog eyes in an effort to get his demon to separate Haruhi and Kasanoda from where they were awkwardly sipping from a pair of exquisite teacups.

He shifted his glasses and hid a smirk, pretending to miss the message entirely. Even though it would further the progress towards the completion of their contract, it was nice to have the prince seeking his attention, and all the unspoken understanding that he'd taken for granted between them. Eventually, he was sure that he'd put Tamaki out of his misery, but he'd wait a little, having suffered through his share of being ignored and avoided.

"-tells me you have a pet," Haruhi was saying. The conversation was succeeding in calming down the jittery mobster, but other than that, it was making little impression on the androgynous host.

"Ah, yes, I have a cat - I mean, it's a dog, but it kind of looks like a cat, so a lot of people aren't sure what it is," Kasanoda managed to sputter. He also managed to slightly impress Haruhi by actually making eye contact: it was his seventh attempt.

"Oh, really? I'd love to meet him. Does he have a name?" She encouraged him, trying to build his confidence for when he finally realized that there was someone else for him in his group.

He seemed pleased, though he still looked a touch terrifying. She tried to ignore that, just as she was trying to ignore the sulking number one host in the corner. The latter attempt was less successful, but thankfully, her client didn't seem to notice, since he could barely look at her without turning red.

"Y-yeah! It's Menchi; I found him on the streets and he just seemed so lost.."

Kyoya restrained himself from rolling his eyes. It wasn't that he was completely unaffected by small cute creatures, or that he couldn't be kind to some sort of token pet to show his gentler side. It was just that the position was already taken by the blond idiot who ironically held the title of master.

Tamaki redoubled his efforts. No one in the host club knew how he did it, but the Host King was capable of turning up the wattage of not only his smile, but his pleading eyes, and it was a force no man or woman could resist for long. Least of all, those who loved him.

The demon felt himself weakening. Inwardly, he laughed at himself for feeling so powerless against this mortal, when the opposite was true. But he was never one to shy away from the truth, and the truth was that there was nothing he wouldn't give his prince; as long as he wanted it, the demon would offer his aid, facilitate his schemes, and even give him -

Haruhi stood, quietly excusing herself from her newly acquired admirer. Of course, nothing in her demeanor gave away what she would do next, and Kasanoda readily promised to come visit her again, charmed by her honesty.

She was discreet, until she began walking, and everyone began to take notice as she headed in an unexpected direction. The general backstage facilities were behind her, but she headed to the forward right corner of the room, where it took coming within arm's reach for the stuporous idiot to notice.

But when he did, it was as though he'd been electrified. All his hair jabbed out perpendicularly from his body as his emotional circuits were momentarily overloaded by the onslaught of elated surprise, causing Haruhi to be visibly taken aback before attempting to steady the prince with a hand on his shoulder.

At the touch, Tamaki zeroed in and glomped onto his darling foundling, and the expected torrent of exuberant expression began to spill forth from his lips.

Her expression over Tamaki's shoulder was clearly visible, even through the lenses that did more to obscure his vision than correct it. Kyoya could see her eyes soften, even as one of her eyebrows twitched at the sheer velocity of Tamaki's words. And he could see her sink into a sort of content, there in his arms, mildly bemused at her own reaction.

Tamaki pulled back slightly to look into his supposed daughter's eyes. Direct eye contact is an important skill for a host, in order to fully express the intensity of sentiment, and he never forgot it. A little smile seemed to be playing around her lips, and she seemed to be gently resigned to his affections. The implications made his eyes widen, before the moment was quickly forgotten in his glee over being tacitly allowed to continue his enthusiastic embrace, as well as his less welcome verbal ministrations.

Kyoya fought to keep his own expression neutral, if not exactly pleasant. Today, more than ever, he couldn't wait for the end of this ridiculous excuse for club activity, and he longed to go - home, to Tamaki, who would look at _him_, rather than _her_. He fought down his impulse to rip them apart, because the plan called for him to be cool, and his host persona called for him to be cool, so that's what he would be. And his coolness extended through the remainder of the hour, and through the evening and into night.

. . .

Tamaki wished Kyoya a quiet goodnight, receiving a chilly response, before they both adjourned to their respective rooms. A variety of things were vying for his attention, and he felt extremely divided, and more than a touch confused. In the cool darkness of his room, Tamaki lay awake, staring at nothing from his bed.

His Haruhi had never allowed him to express his excitement to her at such great length, and Kyoya had never treated him as distantly as he had today. However, it was similar to what he had been doing to the demon, so he supposed that he would have to change his behavior first.

Tamaki's world was seemingly reversing, and he wasn't sure which way it would tilt, or how he wanted it to come to a rest. It wasn't entirely lost upon him that he did seem to be the center of gravity around which the others revolved, but it was the first time he thought that perhaps it wasn't a good thing. He didn't have the right to be responsible for the happiness of so many, and true happiness was too important to be handled by him alone.

He shifted, turning onto his side. Reaching out a hand, he pulled the cord to turn on his lamp, rummaging for his diary, which had been stored in the locked first drawer of his bedside stand since childhood.

It seemed that Haruhi was beginning to accept his feelings, and he didn't know what would come next, but it would have to wait. His best friend's birthday was tomorrow, and he was going to make it great.

* * *

OMAKE

Twins: (showing up for duty at the Shadow King's secret headquarters) Hail! Lord Ill-Tempered Demon!

Kyoya: The future is dark.

Hikaru: It's dark! Yay! But we will be here to help you conquer the earth for the sake of the future!

Kaoru coughs quietly.

Kyoya: Nevermind. *pulls cord to open trapdoor beneath them* ...Unreliable doppelgangers.

**AN:** Thank you, thank you, thank you for reviewing! I love it. I would update so much more frequently if I could, I swear it. Meanwhile, the job hunt continues - wish me luck, will you? I haven't had much :U.

PS - I know it's not actually Kyo's b'day, but just pretend it's September, or that demon!Kyoya has a different one :)

Mori: Next time, Ch.14. Give me Cake or give me Death!

Honey: I keep telling them that cake is best at midnight, but no one listens.


	14. Give me Cake or give me Death!

___Disclaimer: I do not own Ouran High School Host Club, or any other referenced animes._

* * *

**Ch. 14: Give me Cake or give me Death!**

Kyoya awakened to the sound of silence. Thoroughly disoriented, he looked at the clock: 11pm. That was certainly strange, and on a weekend, too. He listened quietly for signs of life outside his door. Nothing. Could it be possible that the Suoh heir was actually doing something without him?

Feeling a mixture of relief and abandonment, the demon slid out of bed, into the slippers that Tamaki had decided he needed to wear. To be fair, they did shield his soles from the cool flooring, as he stumbled toward the bathroom.

They were still experiencing slightly cool weather, enough so that he didn't feel like changing after completing his morning libations. Not when his long sleeved pajamas and sleep-tousled hair were likely to be seen by only one person. Just in case he ran into a servant though, he did put on his glasses before leaving the room.

Emptiness greeted him as he stepped into the shared study room, and he glanced around warily, waiting to be pounced on. But nothing happened. He shrugged, and decided to get a little work done before the inevitable events of the day began.

. . .

Tamaki had decided on a dark chocolate and raspberry cake. The closest kitchen that was more for show than for everyday usage by their chefs was actually located about halfway across the mansion from their shared suite. It was, by his special request, stocked with all the ingredients needed to create his custom concoction. It was also, courtesy of the servants' common sense, stocked with enough of the same ingredients to make over a dozen cakes.

First, Tamaki began by sampling all the ingredients. He'd heard that a chef should know what everything tasted like in order to be able to mix it properly. The flour, eggs, sugar, and salt, he wrinkled his nose at. Especially the raw egg. He tossed it before remembering that he could use it, then cracked open another one, and another for good measure, or perhaps practice. He spent a while sampling the chocolate ganache, and the berries, though the cocoa powder didn't smell very good. The cocoa butter had melted on his hands, and he simply used it to moisturize, since it was already out. Mascarpone for the cream was also sampled at length, and he began to think that maybe the Japanese had something, with their simple presentations of solitary foods.

However, he was committed to his mission. He looked at the recipe his butler had given him and frowned. While it was extremely detailed, it also seemed extremely complicated. Not only did he have the option of using the rich, dark chocolate chunks waiting on the shelf, he also had the option of combining the pure cocoa butter with the pure cocoa powder to create his own chocolate, and that was without even getting to the cake part.

Dry with dry, wet with wet. He began measuring and pouring various powders, white, black, light brown, but it didn't look like it would turn into what he had envisioned, so he added in his favorite ingredients: the chocolate, butter, and raspberries. He preheated the oven, as he poured the wet mixture into the dry, and stuck the whole thing in their fancy stainless steel cake mixer. Fascinated, he set it on a high setting and watched as it whipped the whole mixture into an absolutely smooth, tacky mass that smelled absolutely mouthwatering.

It was rather sticky as he put it into a cake pan, patting it down and attempting to clean his fingers, but it was a bit of a lost cause. So he just put some candles in the center and put it in the oven, wandering off to play with Antoinette while it baked.

He came back right on time, and put it in the fridge to chill, readying the confectioner's sugar in the meantime so that he could make some delicious frosting. Anxiously, he waited until he could finally pull the cake out to sample.

At last, he took it out of the fridge, and cut it with a knife. That is, he attempted to cut it. It felt a little like cutting through hard cheese, the way the edge of the blade sank in and little air pockets were revealed. He managed to free half a slice, and pulled a up a barstool to sample it. It tasted.. like chocolate. With a slight burnt edge, and a strange crispiness. Even as he ate, it hardened some more, and he drew the proper conclusion: too much chocolate. The cake probably held as much cacao content as standard milk chocolate. He freed the rest of it from the cake pan: it fell out with a solid thunk.

And that was his first attempt.

. . .

It was past lunchtime, and Tamaki still hadn't shown up. It was time for Kyoya to get dressed, and go wandering in search of him, even though he was certain that he'd just find the blond playing with Antoinette again, giggling happily while becoming disgustingly germ-coated.

As he headed down a random hallway and took a couple of turns based on instinct, he began to hear Tamaki's voice, with intermittent pauses. Unintelligible at first, it slowly became coherent as the demon drew nearer to the source.

"-but when I tried that last time it turned out rock-solid!" Pause.

Kyoya raised an eyebrow, softening his footsteps.

"Yeah, okay, I'll try that next. Oh, no - " A rattling, as something wobbled against stainless steel, and the sound of a phone being dropped, before being retrieved for the next statement. "I'll try that next time. Thanks, Honey."

And the bespectacled demon rounded the corner, curiosity almost unbearably piqued.

. . .

Tamaki looked up as movement caught his attention out of the corner of his eye. As many sweets as the diminutive host consumed, he didn't seem to have a particularly solid grasp on the production side of it anyway. He quickly pressed END and beamed at his friend.

"Morning! Did you sleep well?" He puffed his hair from where it clung to his forehead, then dragged a flour speckled sleeve across it. The multiple oven arrangement had been on for hours, and it was much later and warmer than the prince realized. The smell of chocolate would probably never come out the area, no matter how diligently the maids cleaned.

Ignoring the greeting in favor of questioning the disaster in progress, Kyoya began his attempt at unraveling the situation. "Did you give the chef a day off, or is this some sort of commoner imitation practice run?"

"Not at all! I just thought that since things mean more when you make them with your own two hands, I should bake you a cake -"

"But I don't even like cake," Kyoya muttered, as Tamaki gestured with a rubber spatula and dislodged a random chunk of... whatever.

"- that's suited to your tastes. Because everyone deserves a cake on their birthday, no matter what." It was clear that this last part was an unshakable conviction, so Kyoya didn't even try to refute it.

Besides, they didn't have cakes in the demon world, and it was true that no one had ever tried to bake him one, much less - he counted the various bumpy, lopsided, inexplicable creations that were lined up on the other side of the oven. Much less seven cakes, if that's what they could be considered.

He opened his mouth to say something, even though he was unsure what he could say. A buzzer went off, followed by two more simultaneously, and a fourth, as Tamaki whirled, dropping his bowl and spatula to open the closest oven, jumping back when he re-experienced the heat of an active oven, and then returning with proper mitts.

Eventually four more disasters joined the others on the counter, making a total of eleven. If the Suohs had been poor, there would have been no more space; but they weren't, so Tamaki continued lining them up, then blowing on each one before sampling it.

"Tamaki?"

He waited.

"Tamaki."

The blond patted his hands against his apron, turning around.

"I can help, you know."

"Really? You know how to bake? That's wonderful! But that doesn't seem right, since I was trying to do something for you." He wilted a little, though whether it was from the sentiment, or the growing heat from the oven he forgot to close was up for debate.

Lifting an apron from its hook, Kyoya tied it around his waist before joining his friend of undeniably privileged upbringing behind the counter. He closed the oven, and took the sampling utensils from astonished hands. "Well, if I help, then I'll get to reap the benefit even sooner, won't I? Now what have you been working with - mmmf."

Tamaki slid the tasting spoon from his friend's lips, having delivered the sample of the perfected chocolate mixture he'd concocted. He watched, delighted, as the demon closed his eyes in appreciation of the rich flavor, the hint of bitterness and cacao without too much compromising sweetness, in an utterly smooth texture.

"I know you managed to make me tell you my birthday, but I don't remember telling you _this_." Kyoya said warmly, surprised that his prince had managed to guess his preferences. Taking in the powders and butters and chunks of chocolate around him, his jaw dropped a little. "And you actually made the blend -"

Tamaki, taking the opportunity, popped a raspberry into his mouth as he spoke, looking extremely pleased with himself, and forgetting that he had yet to complete a successful attempt.

He waited while his friend tasted and swallowed the berry, certain now of his reception.

"I see." Kyoya seemed amused, and a smile hovered, ready to land. "It seems like you've got me figured out, so I'll take a seat over here and wait for my treat." Settling lightly onto a barstool, he leaned forward a bit, watching as Tamaki made more adjustments, and the heat warmed his skin.

When the blond presented the contents of his bowl to Kyoya, he dabbed his fingers in the mix and, instead of tasting it, swiped it onto Tamaki's nose. The look of consternation as he went nearly cross-eyed to look at the chocolate on his nose caused Kyoya to snicker, smiling as Tamaki then rubbed it off with his abused sleeve.

As he watched, basking in the warmth of the room and the domesticity of the scene, Kyoya witnessed the evolution of cake occur before his eyes. Over the next few trials, the line of cakes was completed with no missing links, as each grew progressively more shapely and vertical, outgrowing its sludgelike initial forms.

Finally, one was deemed worthy of being placed in the fridge to chill, while Tamaki combined the creamy icing. Even after setting the automatic whisker to aerate it, the white fluff kept separating inexplicably. Eventually, Kyoya came around to where Tamaki had taken to hand mixing it, in the hopes that abolishing the fancy technology would do the trick.

"Am I doing it wrong?" He wondered, addressing the demon behind him.

"I don't know. Well, it's all in the wrist."

"Like this?"

"A little more like this."

A hand covered the one holding the whisk, demonstrating. Skin slid across skin, heated with the temperature of the room, which did not account for the way Tamaki's back lightly pressed against Kyoya's chest, the sense of permanence that flowed between them, or the natural gravitating of each body to the other. Motions passed in silence, as neither verbally acknowledged the connection, enjoying it mutually, secretly. As the moment elongated almost past plausibly deniability, Kyoya stilled his grasp, gently removing it and himself, before declaring that he had no idea what they were doing wrong.

Tamaki frowned at the icing, instead of turning, which would have brushed him against Kyoya, given the few centimeters that separated them. "Maybe it's the heat."

"Perhaps. If we cool it off, then you might have a higher chance of turning out the desired end product."

"Okay, I'll try again after dinner."

. . .

Time passed and the night air settled around Suoh Mansion #2. The kitchen was surreptitiously cleaned as the troublesome amateur pastry chef dined, the successful cake chilled securely in the fridge, and the insightful maids left only the few remaining ingredients necessary to finish it off.

Kyoya chose to return to their suite to finish up some work for the day, though there wasn't much remaining. Tamaki joined him for some time before he went back and successfully made the icing on the first attempt, now that he wasn't working against the room temperature. It was a starless night, though the light of the moon still silvered everything outside the window. He piped the creamy icing decoratively on top, and layered the raspberries in between two perfect, almost mousse-like slabs of cake.

Then, instead of attempting to insert an untold number of candles for the age of the demon, he opted for one in the center, and quickly transported it to the room as Kyoya shut down his computer.

The light reflecting off the lenses dimmed, and gray eyes clearly raised to the blond who set the cake down beside him, leaning against the desk at Kyoya's side. With one hand, the host flicked the lighter, and the warm flame flickered, casting a slight glow against the two next to it.

Tamaki smiled at Kyoya.

"Make a wish."

Kyoya looked into those violet eyes, lowered his head, and blew.

* * *

OMAKE

Tamaki: What'd you wish for?

Kyoya: Wouldn't you like to know.

Tamaki: Well, it sure was a delicious cake.

Kyoya: *eyeing Tamaki* Delicious doesn't begin to cover it.

**AN:** This chapter sure didn't turn out like I expected! (And everything ended up having double meanings) So now the next one might change too. It's so strange how writing this story feels kind of like following a tiny stream that meanders unexpectedly, but it's fun that way :)

Kaoru: Hey, look who's back!

Hikaru: Ch. 15. Return of the Curse Doll!

Tamaki: N-no... It can't be...


	15. Return of the Curse Doll!

___Disclaimer: I do not own Ouran High School Host Club, or any other referenced animes._

* * *

**Ch. 15: Return of the Curse Doll!**

It was a normal day, except for the fact that Ouran Academy was having a field day. This was the second day of competition, the swimming round. The day before had been track, but due to the blistering heat, they'd had to cut the day short. Even so, this was how they chose to welcome the summer: with an ode to blue skies, the sun hanging lower overhead, and the splash of refreshing water sliding through their fingertips as they glided through the olympic sized pool.

The whole school had turned out to watch their top athletes, some of them huddled in the shade while others sunbathed. Luckily for the Host Club, the male and female competitions were taking place simultaneously in different locations, because what kind of elite academy would it be if it didn't boast enough facilities to hold two school-wide competitions at once? Of course, this didn't stop Renge from choosing another obscure, scantily clad heroine to cosplay as she sunbathed prominently on the side of the pool. This one seemed to involve purple hair, and the word idiot scrawled across her forehead, much to the amusement of everyone else. She didn't even need to give an excuse, she was just there, like an unstoppable force of obsession.

The only other female there was Haruhi, who was dressed, strangely enough, in a hoodie and knee length shorts. She'd simply declined to participate, saying that she had poor reactions to chlorine, and the school let her off the hook. She was watching from the sidelines with her other problematic classmates: Honey, Nekozawa, and the Hitachiins.

Honey couldn't participate due to the the injunction against showing his physical prowess, enforced by the Japanese government. Even though Haruhi still wasn't entirely convinced, it was obvious that Honey preferred to sit on the sidelines eating some chilled cake variations and cheering on their favorite dark horse. Of course, in this competition, which separated the fourth years from the lower levels, he wasn't really an underdog. With each stroke of his powerful arms, Mori appeared to drift effortlessly by the rest of the swimmers, who never had a chance. If his fan club had been here, they would have fainted long ago from the combined sight of his glistening muscles and the steady focus he brought to each event. There was something about a man with such obvious strength and steadiness that made him a pleasure to watch.

Nekozawa was dripping in his own personal darkness, even while seated at the same table as Haruhi, Honey and the twins. There was no administrator who didn't know about his allergy to light, so the question of competing had never been brought up. Of course, he did own a full body suit to swim in, but it was hard to keep a hood on in the water.

Sitting nervously between Nekozawa and Honey were the twins, who continually jostled each other for the seat closer to Honey, rather than the Black Magic Club president. Of course, they would have rather been around Haruhi, but she was already miles ahead of them, safely on the other side of the shaded table, slowly savoring one of Honey's shared sweets. She ignored them as they climbed all over each other in an effort to put some distance between them and the cloaked prince of darkness, ending up half in each other's laps and not minding at all. Mori soon joined them, since his section's events were done for the day, and he'd pretty much swept every single one.

The excitement radiating from Renge signaled the beginning of the second segment of events. Even though she claimed to have shifted her interest from Kyoya to Haruhi, it was obviously a sham. Physically, her attraction to the shadow king of the host club was obvious. Her gaze would sharpen on his form, avidly drinking it in as her smile became slightly less innocent. The incessant scheming she practiced on the club also tended to favor Kyoya, allowing him to keep his dignity while showing no such regard for the natural type.

It soon became clear that their prince and shadow king were extremely well matched, usually keeping a similar pace through most of the races, before one of them would win by a fraction of a second or so, especially for the shorter dashes. The majority of the time they competed, their strokes were synchronized, sprays of water arcing through the air with matching trajectories, with perfect form for just about every style of swimming. Tamaki appeared to have a slight advantage, which was most likely due to the enthusiasm which continually drenched his personality, sometimes splashing indiscriminately onto those around him.

The androgynous host watched him emerge victorious round after round, sometimes taking second place behind his best friend, but always effervescent. Still damp from the last swim, she watched him crouch beside Kyoya for another race, the last one of the day and the longest, as well. Her mind was saturated with the sunlit glory of the princely type, who had spoken nothing less than the truth about his good looks when he had met her that first day. Of course, it could have been the dehydration from the heat, but the refreshment service at Ouran was nothing less than superb.

Unknown to her, a look of longing crossed her face, softening it and emphasizing her beauty. Fresh from his last win, the vulnerability caught the host king's attention and he grinned and waved to her, chasing away the shadow. She hastily looked away without knowing why, looking down at her plate to see that it had two more strawberries than before. She gave Mori a weak smile, which was returned by a quiet nod, then turned, only to catch Renge whispering something into Nekozawa's ear.

The whistle blew and the competitors dove, starting with the backstroke.

The hood turned towards Renge, revealing a quizzical expression. "Didn't you spend a whole day telling me to reject the occult?"

Renge glared and pointed at the pool, while keeping her voice down for once.

Dark laughter wafted from within the hood, and Beelzenef began producing a pile of curse dolls on the table. Somehow, reaching behind the Black Magic Club president's back, then towards the table produced enough of the rotund wooden toys to stack up, though it was a fair guess that the cloak was big enough to hide anything in.

Renge gave Hikaru and Kaoru a conspiratorial grin, dividing the dolls among them so that each one had an armload.

With each flip at the end of the lane, the swimmers switched styles - breaststroke, butterfly, and soon, freestyle. Hair was slicked back by the forward momentum, and Tamaki and Kyoya held the lead at the beginning of the last lap.

"Got it!" They chorused, and happily skipped down to the edge of the pool, crowding at the end of their boss-king's lane, and cheerfully scattered dolls in his wake, causing them to follow his trail as the water rushed forward with him.

The blond screeched and jumped into the air from mid-pool, flailing before falling back in with a hefty splash, and jumping into hyperdrive to reach the other end. The brief panic was enough to give him the lead by half the length of the pool, until he spun at the end and pushed off, only to see the dolls still drifting towards him. He yelped and dove under, sticking his head up at random intervals whenever there was a doll-free zone, then diving back under and swimming like a dolphin possessed.

The twins had long retreated to their seats to watch the commotion, laughing hysterically. They high-fived Renge, who was doing her best impression of a fangirl santa claus. The judges decided not to disqualify Tamaki, despite the fact that he was no longer swimming in freestyle, due to the obstacles that they had no way of removing before the race was over.

Kyoya was closing in on the gap between them, since Tamaki, while still exhibiting hyperspeed panicked movements, was now forced to duck under the dolls, sacrificing precious speed. He calmly milled his arms against the water, kicking steadily as he reached the final fourth before the finish.

A lone wooden curse doll bobbed before him. It floated haphazardly, as if someone had half-heartedly placed it within his lane. In the distance, he saw a figure quickly straighten, then walk away. _Haruhi?_ Since his glasses were off for the race, she must have thought that he would never be able to identify the culprit. Well, it was too late to veer anyway; he had been distracted by her actions, and there was no way the curse doll could affect a demon, especially with nothing written on it, so he plunged forward, brushing against it and reaching the other side in the next few seconds.

"TIME!" Hands helped Kyoya out of the water, toweling him off, and giving the same treatment to Tamaki, who had climbed out of the pool almost immediately after.

"Ootori wins this round! Please come to claim your prize."

Tamaki hopped around joyously as they went to receive their little first and second place ribbons. He beamed at Kyoya when they reached the judges table, turning him towards his audience, grabbing his hand and raising it high for him. Kyoya looked amused, as they stood together victorious.

. . .

Dark eyes watched as the blonde pumped his hand in the air enthusiastically, trapping his rival's hand within it. Tamaki never harbored any resentment, and rejoiced without any misgivings at any of his friend's accomplishments. He would never let something like competition get in the way of being happy for those he cared for, and it showed through all of his actions. His radiance was nothing less than the truth taking form, like a fairytale prince that had somehow taken interest in her.

Kyoya said something to make him laugh, and he threw his blond head back, merrymaking spiralling upwards, before doing something that looked suspiciously like nuzzling against his friend's shoulder, then glomping him, as always. Of course, they were usually more clothed when this happened.

Maybe it was just the amount of skin revealed today, but Haruhi's wide eyes narrowed at the quality of contact they were achieving out in full view. Right before Tamaki jumped on him, she saw Kyoya give a subtle hip adjustment, avoiding full-frontal contact with the prince. Was he simply more conscious of propriety, or was he _aware_ of Tamaki in that way? Tamaki didn't seem to notice as he attempted to imitate Honey clambering onto Mori, without being fully aware that there was virtually no size discrepancy between him and his chosen playground.

All this resulted in tangled limbs, as Kyoya managed to evade him with minimal adjustments seen only by a pair of wide, brown eyes, and Tamaki redoubled his efforts, resulting in just about every part of the boys brushing against each other in full view to the soundtrack of Tamaki yelping about something. The other competitors simply ignored it; the host club was eccentric, and none more so than the Suoh heir. Kyoya adjusted his glasses, and the lenses flashed in her direction before Tamaki somehow managed to transfer himself around the cool type by swinging himself around laterally.

Kyoya stiffened as the process brought Tamaki's inner thighs in contact with him below the waist as he turned, throwing a ruffled look back at the blond, who by now was practically straddling him from behind, still mussing his hair and chirping while clinging like he wanted a piggyback ride. An unreadable intensity showed in his gaze, the more easily identifiable ones being exasperation and affection, with a glint of something more urgent. It was more emotion in a single glance than she'd ever seen the reticent bookkeeper show, and she wasn't the only one who noticed it. Tamaki caught his eye, and arched an eyebrow in response, lips parting slightly. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Renge wiping her face with the back of her hand absently, trying to pretend the bit of red under her nose wasn't happening.

She focused in on Tamaki, who had been struck by some sort of sobering thought, sliding off of the vice president and saying something she was too far away to make out. Perhaps one of Kyoya's threats had finally penetrated, though she hadn't detected that tell-tale purple aura of evil.

. . .

"But Kyoya, I forgot - You touched it, didn't you?" He leaned in somberly, palm pressed against the other's shoulder in concern. There was no part of him that doubted the Black Magic that Nekozawa practiced now that it had given him his best friend.

"..." Sometimes, it was just impossible to guess what the idiot was thinking about. He waited, until blond's hand slid down off his chest to shield his next words.

"The," he whispered, "_curse doll." _

The demon didn't roll his eyes, settling for a matter of fact response. "Yes, Tamaki." Of course, what did it matter? This fear of the curse dolls seemed to be getting worse; now, even mere contact with it was apparently an effective transfer of the curse.

The prince looked concerned, taking his hand into both of his own. "Then tomorrow, we'll stay in, so that nothing can happen to you, mon ami."

_Seriously?_ He looked across the pool, to where dark eyes were still watching them. "Yes," he said slowly, contemplating the possible outcome. "I think that that solution has great potential."

* * *

OMAKE

Haruhi: Wait, why were you guys not swimming, anyway? I know you can.

Hikaru: Well we were...

Kaoru: Disqualified.

Haruhi: ... I'm not even gonna ask.

**AN:** Yeah, I was thinking about the Olympics. And it's been so hot out.. Sorry, I'll get on with the story in the next chapter, I promise, since this chapter didn't move things along enough... I could've just named this chapter "In which everyone loves Tamaki, and Tamaki is oblivious" but that's like, every day.

Kyoya: Next time, Ch.16. An Unexpected Home Visit!

Nekozawa: If you want, you can borrow Beelzenef.


	16. An Unexpected Home Visit!

___Disclaimer: I do not own Ouran High School Host Club, or any other referenced animes._

* * *

**Ch. 16: An Unexpected Home Visit!**

"Dinosaurs!"

"No."

Tamaki pouted. "But I wanted to be a Brontosaurus. Mori could be a Stegosaurus, and Honey could be the Saurolophus that rides on him!"

"And me?"

"Um, Tyrannosaurus? Or Pterodactyl?"

Kyoya adjusted his glasses for what felt like the umpteenth time. "Aren't you the king?"

"Oh, right." He tapped his pencil against his dedicated journal for Host Club scheming: a fuzzy, purple affair that almost matched the Ouran uniform. He looked at the next item on the list. "Mermaids. Mermen. Merfolk, I mean."

It had potential. With a swim-up bar for refreshments, it could be worth doing. "I think that client of yours is still upset over how you called her a carp. You know, the 'mermaid princess'?"

"But I didn't call her a carp!" Tamaki wailed.

Kyoya snorted and leaned back slightly. "What's next?"

Tamaki checked the list again. It looked like his handwriting, but he didn't remember writing it at all. He gave Kyoya a suspicious glance. "The Wizard of Oz, reversals? So, that would mean Honey as the Cowardly Lion, Mori as the Tin man with no heart?" He grinned. "Would you be the wicked witch, Mommy? Or does that not count as a reversal?"

"Does that make you the scarecrow who needed a brain?" He countered.

"Hey! I don't need a brain!"

The demon coughed. "Sure." Fending off Tamaki's exaggerated glare, he leaned forward. "And the twins?"

"Those doppelgangers can be..."

"Flying monkeys." They said in unison. But then Tamaki started to look alarmed.

"Wait, they can't kidnap my Haruhi!" Obviously, it went without saying that she would be Dorothy. "Then they'll take her and bring her - to you! Traitor!" He gesticulated wildly, ending with an accusatory finger pointed at the demon.

"What possible use do I have for her?" Aside from getting her to fulfill the damned contract so that he could get his hands on Tamaki. "You're the one that wants her, not me."

"True." The blond started to look wistful, and a tad dreamy-eyed.

Kyoya checked his watch again. _3:40_. He sighed. His time was almost up.

"Do you think they miss us? The club, our customers," he elaborated.

"You do realize it's only been a day," Kyoya said rationally. "I'm sure they do, but they'll see us tomorrow." But if his calculations were correct, he would see one of them tonight. He shook his head, attempting to clear his thoughts. "I'm sorry about Renge, by the way. I should know better than to give her free rein by now; I swear she lives simply to create messes."

"That's okay. I mean, she's a little... aggressive, but I like her anyway. She reminds me of you, a little. If you weren't so restrained, I mean." Tamaki elucidated thoughtfully.

Kyoya raised an eyebrow at that. "Are you sure that's not because you know she's a demon?"

"No, it's not that, you have a similar," he paused, searching for the proper word. "_hunger_ about you. Except she always looks like she's at a buffet when she's around us, and you're more careful about it. But sometimes, you look at me like you're starving and I think that you're going to eat me."

Oh, hell. It was time to deflect for all he was worth. "I'll tell you again, Tamaki, I'm not going to eat you. In fact, I could even protect you from the curse dolls, which I've also told you _have no effect_ on me. I'm higher in the power hierarchy than some carved pieces of wood." The added scorn in the last statement made Tamaki grin; his friend could try and hide it, but the demon had his pride.

The host batted his eyes playfully. "You're saying that you'll protect me? Take care of me and cherish me? Ah, I think I'm going to fai-" he swooned a little, snickering as he came back up.

"Idiot." Then he gave him a look, as if he wanted Tamaki to remember. "Of course I would, for as long as you're mine." He said, a little quietly.

Tamaki's eyes widened, an almost imperceptible pause in their banter. "I wonder," he said, reverting to his playful mode, "why are all the good ones demons?" Tilting his head, he quirked his eyebrow, his vibrant eyes sparkling.

Kyoya couldn't help his answering grin. Throttling back the urge to make good on the claim, he said instead, "I think there are a few good humans around. Definitely at least one." The warmth of his tone seemed to imply he meant the moron in front of him, but the strain underneath it hinted at someone else.

Once again, their thoughts landed on the same wavelength.

Shadowed eyes met clear amethyst, and an uncomfortable silence emerged as if one of them had just mentioned a fact the other was trying to ignore.

Kyoya checked his watch. _4:00._

Hana knocked on the door. "Excuse me, Master Tamaki, but there's someone here to see you." She opened it and stepped through, waiting expectantly.

Right on time. She never failed to live up to expectations, after all, even after he'd even factored in a shortened time for her to run all the way here after the last bell. Kyoya felt a dry satisfaction at having predicted her movements flawlessly, swallowing slowly as if it was sticking in his throat.

"I think I'll go catch up on some paperwork." He stood up quickly and locked himself in his room before his friend could register his disappearance, leaving him staring at a closed door.

"Master Tamaki?" Hana prompted.

"Uh, yes?"

"There's a Miss Fujioka here to see you."

_Haruhi?_ It couldn't be. But it was. He leaped onto his feet, startling the maid. Even after years of service, Tamaki still had the knack to be as spastic as they come.

Forgetting to reply, he sprinted down the hallways, arriving out of breath at the door and flinging it open. "Haruhi! You've come to visit Da-"

He stopped, since Haruhi had her hand up while she caught her breath.

She straightened, and they stared at each other, panting slightly.

He opened his mouth to try again, only to have her beat him to it.

Her word dropped between them. "Senpai."

"Is something wrong, Haruhi?" He fluttered anxiously around her.

"Can I come in?" Her wry tone restored, Tamaki relaxed.

"Of course! Come, my daughter, and I'll give you a tour." He gestured, letting her precede him as was proper, according to his princely behavior handbook.

"Thanks, Tamaki, but I didn't really come to see your house."

"Then... you missed me? It has been a long time since the last time you laid eyes on me, hasn't it."

"It's been a day."

Kyoya could hear them coming closer to the room, with the higher-pitched voice belonging to his excitable friend. Fabric rustled as Tamaki talked, and they settled on the couch while Haruhi worked up the nerve to speak.

"Senpai, I-" She paused. "You weren't at school today, and I was- " She frowned, knowing that that was just a pretext for coming here. Clearing her throat, she tried again.

"Do you remember that day in Okinawa, after the storm broke over the beach house?"

_You mean the time I played the bad guy so that Tamaki could run in and be the hero?_ Kyoya supplied. He decided there was no reason for him to eavesdrop from his room, so he drifted out invisibly, spying unobtrusively as only a demon could.

Tamaki nodded. "You were so scared," he said softly.

"You promised you would be there for me..."

"Hey, I will," Tamaki lifted her chin, troubled by her downcast gaze. "I promise, Haruhi." He reached down to clasp her hands within his own.

Tamaki didn't see it, but he did. Wide eyes that darted towards his door, then purposely did not ask where he was. The girl had come here on a mission.

Kyoya watched as Tamaki engaged Haruhi in the innocent act of pinky swearing, his eyes darkening. Haruhi blushed uncharacteristically, then looked up at Tamaki, making sure she had his full attention.

It felt familiar, a pinch deep in his chest. _This couldn't be happening again._ Him, watching, as the person he cared about most fell in love with some girl who casually responded to his interest, while he sacrificed everything to protect him. An eye, his blood, whatever it took. His fists curled, driving his fingernails deep into his palm. Dimly he realized the dampness he felt was probably him bleeding.

He stopped watching, solidifying inside his room, slumping against the door and sliding down until he hit the floor.

Through the painted wooden door, he could hear it. A stumbling statement that would change everything.

"I - I love you, Tamaki. I think it was inevitable from the start."

* * *

OMAKE

Hikaru: Wow, the boss is so deep in shock that he couldn't even respond before the chapter ended!

Kaoru: I can't tell if he's catatonic or just slow, actually.

Honey: Waaa, I don't want to watch this!

Mori: Yeah.

**AN:** We're entering the final arc now, dear readers. Ready for this story to be over with? :)

Take a moment to _review_, pretty please?

Haruhi: Next time, Ch. 17. The Newspaper Headlines Reveal All!

Tamaki: What's that?


	17. The Newspaper Headlines Reveal All!

___Disclaimer: I do not own Ouran High School Host Club, or any other referenced animes._

* * *

**Ch. 17: The Newspaper Headlines Reveal All!**

The girls thought that it was the best day ever at the Host Club.

It had all started when the Hitachiins had slammed down a stack of freshly printed newspapers. They'd kept tabs on what was being printed by the club of ill-repute ever since the "Double Your Pleasure, Double Your Fun" headline they'd run, featuring the twins in compromising positions outside of Host Club. Kyoya had been there to run the spin campaign on that to minimize the damage, but in return, he'd demanded that they monitor the Newspaper Club.

Hikaru spoke first, after the papers hit the table with a dull thud. "We all know that the school newspaper only prints a bunch of lies, but-"

"But those pictures are pretty convincing."

Two pairs of amber eyes scrutinized the images. The bespectacled vice president had been pretty certain that the club lacked the gumption to fabricate whole lies after the last fallout, but the Suoh family made a tempting target. Not only that, but it was apparent to the twins that the high resolution photographs hadn't been photoshopped.

The girls gasped. The first picture was Haruhi, still in her Ouran attire, being greeted at the door by an out of breath Tamaki. The photographer had been decent; he or she had captured the moment when their eyes connected and their mouths hung slightly agape in the search for air.

The second picture was a bit later in the day, since streaks of red and pink had begun to creep across the horizon. Haruhi was on her toes, since she was significantly shorter than the Tamaki, and they were sharing a comfortable, familiar hug that caused the girls to give a collective sigh. Again, the photographer had managed to capture the moment perfectly, catching the slightly pensive, hopeful smile Haruhi had, though Tamaki's expression was obscured.

But most importantly, in big, bold letters, the headline scrawled across the front page read: "Scholarship Student Nets Suoh Heir - After School Rendezvous", followed by speculation about how said student had, on multiple occasions, declared that gender was irrelevant, and could be seen proving this belief in these pictures.

The various clients froze with anticipation to see how the drama would unfold. Could it be true? Was Tamaki taken, and by none other than their very own Haruhi? It was impossible to think that the honor student would stoop so low as to be in it for the money, so they disregarded that part of the gossip column, as usual.

The twins posed dramatically, pointing respectively at the two involved hosts. "So we were thinking.." The two drawled in unison, while Tamaki panicked and Haruhi wished she was anywhere but here.

"_Congratulations to the happy couple!" _Confetti streamed as Hikaru and Kaoru blew into their festooned noisemakers and Honey swung down from pulling the tassel to release the hastily made banner reflecting the sentiment.

After all, the rest of the Host Club knew that the Suoh reputation wouldn't suffer since Haruhi would eventually have to reveal her gender to the world. If anything, the sheer romanticism of aristocracy mingling with a commoner would probably skyrocket Tamaki's popularity.

But for now, the girls squealed and little pink hearts sprung full grown from their eyes, floating up to form a cloud of tangible romanticism, causing Tamaki to cough slightly as he reached rather flamboyantly for Haruhi's hand, ever amenable to pleasing his audience.

There was a reason the blond was the number one host in the club, and it showed as he stirred the crowed into a fluttering frenzy. The novelty and the perceived innocence of the couple caused moe senses to go into overdrive as Tamaki continued doing what he does best. Haruhi, who had seen the host's routine countless times by now, played along, even though the previous night had ended without a true resolution. After she had declared her love, Tamaki hugged her and told her how happy he was that she had finally come around, plus some jargon about daddies, which made her roll her eyes since she was pretty sure he hadn't actually missed the point so badly. But he had responded positively, and this celebration was the first confirmation of the new couple, so she couldn't help but be glad that Tamaki had decided to accept it in his own way.

Besides, it was hard to argue with a prince of unparalleled beauty, who was kissing her hand with a flourish as he knelt on one knee.

Envy glinted in the eyes of a firstborn daughter of the head of a corporate lending conglomerate. She raised her voice, letting it carry above the racket. "Tamaki, you can be such a fool. Can't you see that he's only using you for your money? You'd be safer getting involved with your own kind." She toyed with her teacup, as though she had made an observation of little consequence.

The blond's spine stiffened in the middle of his elaborate wooing display, and he rose to his feet to face her. The room grew silent.

"I'm sorry, princess, but I don't think that any of us are of a kind. You may have the lineage that Haruhi does not, but that doesn't make you any better."

The girl's lips thinned. This carelessness was unbecoming of the Suoh heir.

Tamaki decided now would be a perfect time to recite a piece of commoner wisdom, rallying his troops. "We reserve the right to refuse service to anyone," he declared. "Please escort this lady out."

"Got it!" The twins chivvied her out the door in no time flat, allowing Tamaki to catch the crestfallen look on Haruhi's face before she locked it away behind a false, bright smile.

"My dear, I am so sorry that you had to witness that," he nearly whispered. Of course, it projected like a stage whisper, and all the girls crowded closer to hear his next words. But instead, he gave them a sideways glance, then leaned in and whispered it to Haruhi alone, causing her to give a wide-eyed nod while a faint blush dusted her cheeks.

A couple of the clients were beginning to hyperventilate, one of them managing to get a couple words out about boys and beautiful love before she tipped over.

As the fawning continued, Honey and Mori were the first to notice it, from their sweets-laden table on the side. Honey looked slightly concerned for a moment, before diving into his lemon meringue gleefully, leaving Mori to quietly speculate and track its progress.

A few minutes later, the twins began to take note, from their position on the outskirts of the crowd, egging them on with imaginative suggestions that the prince kept ignoring.

The light was being erased by a crawling black cloud, crackling with purple energy. It slowly moved to encase the pairs of hosts in darkness, causing them to stare at the lone host calmly clicking away as though there was no manifestation of his negative emotion affecting the room.

Numbers moved on the reflective lenses as Kyoya idly scrolled, unable to block out the revelry that assaulted his ears. Two fearless redheads crept towards him, slowly rising up from behind his screen.

Kaoru glanced down to confirm his suspicion that nothing useful was on the screen. "You don't suppose -" he began softly.

"That Mommy's _jealous_," Hikaru finished, dragging out the words dangerously close to Kyoya's ear.

They could hear a nearly audible snap as Kyoya came back to himself, and pulled back the spreading aura that betrayed his state of mind. Luckily, the bulk of the girls with the hosts at the center hadn't seen it yet, but now that he'd been caught, there was nothing for it. He'd have to play his part, or risk having his momentary lapse taken seriously. And, knowing the twins, denial would be the least convincing course of action.

"Jealous, jealous," the twins chorused happily, strangely uninhibited by their impending doom in the form of a demon next to them.

Kyoya resisted the urge to snap them in half, smirking lethally instead. The little brats were unafraid, since they were sure they had something on the Shadow King. He swung his legs over, uncrossing them in order to stalk into the heart of the squealing mob.

"Huh?" Tamaki asked, finally noticing the commotion that was reaching him. "Jealous? Who?"

"I am," Kyoya purred, as the girls parted before him. "I think someone is taking _my_ place." He placed both hands on either side of Tamaki's chair, staring down at the unfaithful prince. The girls gasped and clutched each other; not only was there a new pairing today, there was even a love triangle!

Tamaki turned red and stammered rapidly in the face of death. "Wha- No, no one could ever take your pla-"

Ignoring the Host King's efforts to appease him, he trailed a finger up Tamaki's neck, forcing him to lift his chin as he dove in for the kill.

At the touch of the demon's lips against his, the blond shivered, involuntarily opening his mouth in a small, inarticulate moan that was part pleasure and part surprise. A tongue snaked into his mouth, pressing downward demandingly and stroking against his palate, and he reciprocated, avid for more. Arms twined around Kyoya's neck, he hung on as they delved into each other, trading breaths in an uneven staccato rhythm while the temperature in the room seemed to rise by several degrees.

Tamaki squirmed in his seat, pulling down on Kyoya, but the demon was unyielding, keeping them at the same tantalizing distance as he teased Tamaki until he was panting. There was something driving the demon, a point he had to make, and he knew it had been clearly delivered as he pulled away in the middle of a desperate little sound coming from the back of Tamaki's throat, and finally noticed the girls collapsed on the floor.

A small smirk curved Kyoya's lips, still wet from the liplock, his cool facade not dropping for a second.

Hikaru and Honey were poking at the twitching girls, while Kaoru and Mori were reminding them to be more proper with their esteemed guests. None of them looked up at the club's co-founders, who were busy _not_ pulling each other to the floor.

Tamaki regained his voice with difficulty under Kyoya's bold, amused gaze. "Ha. Ah-" A few of the girls stirred a little in acknowledgement. "Ha- Haruhi, sorry about that, you know how carried away daddies and mommies can get, it's a fact of life, to be -"

She rolled her eyes. "Shut up," she suggested, seemingly unfazed by the surprisingly ardent display. The profits would be through the roof today, and she wasn't fool enough to think that Kyoya did anything without hoping to gain from it. After all, when Tamaki had whispered in her ear earlier, he had asked her to meet him at the cafe near her house on Saturday.

It had always been a bit difficult to distinguish fantasy from reality here in the Host Club.

_However_, Haruhi thought, _today had probably been the most difficult of all_.

Nonetheless, there was nothing to do but to contribute to the clean up effort, which consisted mainly of escorting each rubbery-legged female out the double doors and letting them trail dazedly down the hallways until they somehow reached their homes. Not knowing what else to do, the rest of the hosts departed shortly after, with Honey flicking the light switch from Mori's shoulders, leaving Tamaki and Kyoya standing alone like statues in the night.

. . .

The two of them stared at each other in the darkened music room. The last few rays of the sun cast just enough light for them to make out each other's features, allowing Tamaki to see exactly when Kyoya's eyes narrowed, as if he had seen something he disapproved of in the other boy.

He seemed to be waiting for something, and his impatience mounted with the growing silence.

The tension increased as Tamaki failed to say the words that Kyoya willed him to say. The staring contest dragged on, until Kyoya finally gave in and spoke first, his voice filled with irritation.

"Suoh." He sounded removed, disdainful.

"Y-yeah?" He replied uncertainly.

"What will you do now?" It was a loaded question, and even Tamaki knew he wasn't merely referring to the next few minutes.

"Huh?" But he had no answer, even though Kyoya waited a few moments in case he found it.

"What will you do, now that she loves you, Tamaki?"

Violet eyes stared at the ground, trying to dodge the question.

"Don't you realize what a twisted bargain you struck?" Gray eyes glared and scorched his skin. "How could you hope to enjoy the attainment of your wish when your soul is forfeit the moment you've reached it?" Kyoya nearly growled, hoping to prod Tamaki into a reaction.

He received a panicked look in response.

Kyoya grabbed him by the collar. "May I remind you that you made your bed, and now you'll have to lie in it."

"W-What?" The prince stuttered, taken completely by surprise by how close the demon suddenly was. The faint scent of Kyoya as the motion pulled him near, and the air moved forward in response.

"Do you really understand what happens now, Tamaki?" The contract had been clear, and the terms had been fulfilled.

"Haruhi..." A light danced deep in the violet depths of Tamaki's eyes, the joy of having achieved their first goal, extinguished by his next thought as Kyoya shook him a little. "But what about you? What about..." his voice dropped to a whisper. "..._us_?"

Rage filled the demon. Was he a mere afterthought that was keeping Tamaki from experiencing true happiness with Haruhi? Was the idiot _afraid_ of him, after all the times he had graciously _not_ killed him for being an annoying little twit?

"What about me? I'm_ not interested_. You're the one who called me here in order to be your co-conspiriator in your little love game." His eyes hardened.

"What would I want with a willful, superficial, spoiled child?" He gathered his pride around him like a cloak. "You couldn't have thought that I would want to be by your side as each day goes by, keeping you happy in a million different ways." Spending each hour letting that infectious laughter take root in his veins, making fools of themselves with abandon. "You summoned me for your own purposes, and now you're surprised that I don't share them. It's hardly my fault you were so foolish as to wish for something that ends here, and now that you've attained it-"

Tamaki had raised his hands up as though he could physically block the stream of words coming from his friend, or perhaps former friend, if the words were any indication. He took a closer look at him, unraveling Kyoya's true state of mind with his understanding of the demon's personality, built over long hours of companionship. Despite the verbal onslaught, his eyes softened. He tried to reach out, knowing his friend was hurt.

"Kyo-"

But the demon batted the hand away, eyes suspiciously averted before the light bounced off his glasses, hiding the most eloquent part of his face.

"I should've known better than to enjoy my time around you," he spat at the ground, more quietly than before. "I should've known better than to let you become a friend. I don't even know why I did." He took an even breath, exhaling and exerting an iron control over his voice. "Even after all the little adventures we've been through, I still don't see what all those girls see in you. Your beauty leaves me cold, little prince, and your charm is comprised of lies. Eternity is far too long to spend with the likes of you."

Tamaki would give anything to be deaf and blind right now, to escape the words and the sight of his friend's deep, unfocused eyes. "Then why are you here now?" He tried, desperately. Anything to stop those words, eroding away his disbelief, forcing him to hear them and connect them with this demon that he had let into his heart. Forcing him to accept those words as truth.

"To ask you: what will you do? I'm not here to keep you company. I'm here to grant you one, fucking, wish, and I _have_. Your soul is mine, and I could take you right now if I wanted to."

Hiding his trembling, he dragged his eyes up to meet those overcast gray ones. "You could, you know. And I would be happy." Tamaki left himself vulnerable, hoping Kyoya could see the truth behind those words, along with the happiness marred by hurt that still lingered at his core. Everything he wanted was here, it was true, if only this last obstacle could be overcome.

Even though it felt like a slap in the face, the amount of joy that Haruhi brought the idiot, he couldn't bring himself to end it by finishing the deal - not when the blond had finally attained what he had wanted for so long. He saw the pain he was causing the prince, and the light that had been there before he had started this. Whatever this was. "I don't. I won't do it, Tamaki." He sighed bitterly, tasting defeat. "I won't take your soul."

He paused, then the words stumbled out between them.

"Goodbye, Tamaki."

Dropping the blond, Kyoya closed his eyes briefly and spun on his heel, casting one last look over his shoulder at the shaken prince. Behind him, he could hear a faint stuttered protest, easy to ignore while shielded by his hostility.

"W-wait-"Tamaki's vision blurred, but it didn't matter because the sun had set, and he could barely make the details of the room, much less the dark frame of the door as Kyoya walked to it, opened the door, and left.

* * *

OMAKE

Tamaki: Are you saying you _don't_ want to eat me?

Kyoya: How many times do I have to tell you? I don't eat -

Tamaki: I didn't mean metaphysically.

Kyoya: Oh.

**AN: **It is _insanely_ flattering to hear that some of you wouldn't have minded if the story continued longer. Each time I post a chapter, I wonder if I'm boring everyone, and whether they're just wishing I would get on with it. So for you to say that is just - _kyaa_.

Hikaru: Coming up, Ch. 18. When the Bough Breaks!

Kaoru: I would've preferred "When the Pumpkin Bursts"...


	18. When the Bough Breaks!

___Disclaimer: I do not own Ouran High School Host Club, or any other referenced animes._

* * *

**Ch. 18: The Bough Breaks!**

_- - -Ouran Academy- - -_

"Where's Kyoya, Tamaki?"

"Don't you live together?"

At first, they had asked. The omnipresent, behind the scenes leader was integral to the running of the club, and there was only one person who had the answers.

But they all received the same response, resonating with a streak of melancholy that they shared and alleviated with the addition of Haruhi to the club. She made them feel like they were progressing outside of their social circle, outside of the one person who was always there for them. And if any of the Host Club lost their constant, they would look just like Tamaki, in that moment when he searched, floundering without a response, before one of them picked up the thread of conversation to ease it off the topic.

Each of them knew what it meant to be left behind, to remain alone after reaching out to someone. Seeing that expression on Tamaki Suoh was another thing, however. Hikaru and Kaoru held each other close, recognizing what it meant, reassuring themselves that they always had each other. Honey and Mori exchanged loaded glances, and Honey didn't leave those broad shoulders all day, despite the tentative objections of a few teachers.

The girls picked up on it a little more slowly, especially with the rest of the club running interference in order to shield Tamaki.

"Can I request you for my next session?"

"I don't know, ask- "

But there was nothing they could do to protect Tamaki from reminding himself. Logically, Haruhi would step in to fill the gap left by the vice president. She began taking names and numbers, attempting to balance the budget, but balancing Tamaki was another story. No longer immune to the charms of the prince, she did her best to cheer him up, unable to withstand the weight of his depression. But he'd seen her efforts, and he'd faked a smile, and then continued to act as he always did around her.

But there was still Saturday, and Haruhi would corner him.

- - -_Shadow Realm_- - -

Each day that passed, Kyoya paced more. The servants learned to tell time by the regularity of his measured strides clicking across the hall. After the first encounter with his icy glare, they moved their whispers out of range, where the discussion continued daily.

"He's not going to do it."

"What will happen to him?"

And each day, his nervousness continued unabated, as he took his frustrations out on the cold stone floors.

News spread as quickly among his kind as it did among high schoolers. His reputation in the demon world was taking a hit; he was quickly becoming known as the one who had let his human go, and yet, he refused to do otherwise.

He was invited to many events, by the many curious about his stint in the human world, and about the rumors that someone had managed to crack his hard facade. They pouted, simpered, and entreated, but only in text, through letters he simply let slip from his hands into the wastebasket, refusing to let anyone across his threshold.

He could still hear the gossip that must be swirling outside, just outside of his glaring range, and it didn't lighten his mood in the least. When it came to moods like these, nothing ever could. And yet, there was one person who could change them simply by breathing the air around him.

"They say that each deal must be balanced."

"That a soul and a demon's life have equal value."

But it was only right that Tamaki spend his life with the one he loves. To Kyoya, that was the same as knowing he had nothing to gain in this transaction.

- - -_Commoner Coffee Shop_- - -

"How's the tea, senpai?" Haruhi prompted gently, after the usual unsolicited explosion of opinion failed to erupt from the self-proclaimed King of hosting.

"Oh, it's wonderful, Haruhi!" Approval that didn't quite reach his eyes, which remained slightly downcast despite the well-practiced smile. He looked splendid out of his uniform, as she'd been well aware of before today. That was why she'd taken a bit more care and chosen to wear something non-unisex today.

"You do know this is a coffee shop, don't you?"

"Well, yes," he said, having clearly not thought about it, "but I just realized that I've never had commoner tea. But Japanese tea is so good that even this stuff makes me feel... warm." His eyes unfocused slightly on the image of a black haired young man, smiling sweetly to advertise the virtues of their prepackaged tea leaves.

Haruhi frowned. She didn't mind that he wasn't his customarily effusive self, but his attention was clearly elsewhere, and he would probably become so entranced by the swirling of his tea that he'd be completely lost to her soon. And she would obviously have to use some tact in bringing up the matter of his missing best friend.

Tamaki checked his phone for what felt like the twentieth time since they'd met here.

Haruhi sighed. "You know, I don't think this is quite fair. Don't you think that people have no right to ask for something that they're unwilling to give in return?"

The phone slipped back into a pocket. Cocking his head slightly, he replied, willing to follow her lead. "Yeah, I suppose."

"And you've said that you want my love," she paused. "And now you have it. What will you do?"

"What will I do?"

"Will you return it, Tamaki?"

"I..I don't know," he spoke slowly, edging the words out around a heavy heart. "Haruhi.."

She turned her attention to her own coffee. "I think I do. I tried to resist you, since there is so much about you that doesn't match with what I would want, in a - a lover." She cleared her throat. "I mean, in a partner. I mean, you're borderline crazy and flighty as a peacock, but you're always so _sure_, and single-minded in your pursuit. And once I had that stupid look of yours directed my way, I couldn't help but want to keep it for myself, and I began to fall for you."

Not sure whether he was insulted or complimented, he remained silent for a change.

"I always thought I'd find someone a bit more steadfast, not only in their beliefs, but in demeanor - a rock upon which I could land in a storm. But you rise so high and fall so hard that you _are_ the storm."

"I see." Tamaki's hesitation was so strong that it nearly foundered him. "I apologize, I think. I didn't know what I was asking for, or that I would manage to get the depth of your emotion." He took Haruhi's hand in an effort to comfort or connect, but failed in both. "You're right, I can't ask for everyone's love when I can only offer my own to one person."

She attempted to laugh, but it came out as a dry huff of air. "It's just like you, Tamaki, to be so oblivious. It's fine. I knew. And now that you're aware of it, you can release me, and we can discuss what's really bothering you."

"But you -"

"It's okay, Tamaki."

"But-"

- - -_Fuyumi's Estate_- - -

Kyoya had received a letter with an urgent summons, and left his home for the first time in days to rescue his sister from what she'd said was an imminent crisis. He should have known - had known - that it was just a pretext to get him to visit her.

She was sitting on the veranda, sipping from a tiny cup and gazing off into the courtyard when he arrived. He unceremoniously dumped himself in the one empty seat, dark eyes roaming restlessly over the sculpted greenery.

Amused by his obvious internal grumbling, she greeted him mildly.

"Renge dropped by the other day."

"For the last time, I'm not going to be with her." Exasperation was better than nothing, and any sort of emotion was a good sign.

Fuyumi continued, "She's been telling me about the host club, and the boy that you made a deal with."

An immaculately clad servant came over to serve him some tea, making contact with Fuyumi and blushing in the process. She grinned in satisfaction at the progress she was making with her latest human acquisition.

As he left, she leaned forward. "Renge told me that you let him go." Receiving a bland look in response, she dropped her nonchalant tone and let her worry and anger shimmer through. "You do remember what happened last time, don't you? And you weren't even in a contract then."

"Yes. I moped for a century before you bullied me into taking up this contracting business, and now that I have, I'm powerful enough to contend with the best of them." He habitually shifted his glasses, taking refuge behind his boast. "I can pay the price, sister."

"No, you nearly became a recluse in your grief, but now that you've become whole, and strong enough to love someone new, you're going to walk away without a fight."

He turned his head away stubbornly, refusing to hear her.

"There's no need for you to pay this price, Kyoya." Her eyes softened. "Go to Renge, I think she has something tell you."

- - -_Ouran Academy_- - -

_She said to go and find you, _Tamaki thought, _but I have no idea how._ He tucked Kuma-chan's legs up, propping him next to the piano's music holder, where he could watch. With nowhere else to go, he had returned here, to this quiet room currently unoccupied by the usual merrymaking crowd within it.

"I didn't want to go home, " Tamaki said quietly to Kuma-chan. "But I don't think he wants anything to do with me." Their shared quarters felt empty now, just as they had been before he had ever decided to foolishly summon a demon. A whole existence that disappeared as though it had never been in his life.

He crossed his legs on the bench, staring down at his hands. "I don't even know how to find him. I could search this entire world and never find a trace, and I don't know if I can live with that." He had also managed to hurt the first commoner female friend he'd ever had in order to reach this point. It couldn't all be for nothing.

"It's lonely," he admitted. Kuma-chan didn't move. He paged rapidly through the musical score on the stand to distract himself, blindly setting fingertips onto ivory keys to create the first discordant notes.

Adjusting his position, he struck true this time, and strains of his heartache filled the air, drifting down the corridors in an all but abandoned school.

Wrapped up in the sound of his own music, he didn't hear anyone approach as he poured his soul into the playing.

Mesmerized by the shimmering glissandos that brushed against his ears like tears falling onto moving hands, Kyoya drifted closer, no longer aware of putting one foot before the next.

He recognized the themes with a sense of nostalgia, the leitmotifs that had been assigned to the major players in their story. Tamaki had strayed from the written score, and he could tell which movements were his when it turned into a more mysterious key, laced with playfulness and regret. And he felt the counter melody calling him, coaxing the other to stir, giving chase and being chased.

But the chase grew minor, heartbreakingly dissonant, the glissandos staggered and dropped one by one into an isolated theme, beautiful and haunting. Just like Tamaki in the moonlight, almost silhouetted against the giant panes of glass, fingers dancing over keys in a composition of his own.

Kyoya walked into the room, sitting on the piano bench opposite Tamaki, invisible. Watching, as Tamaki continued to play with his eyes closed, his hands never wavering as he immersed himself in a performance of pure expression.

When the music ended, and Tamaki finally opened those eyelashes spiked with the wetness of his tears, Kyoya would be there.

* * *

OMAKE

Kyoya: What did Renge have to tell me?

Fuyumi: That Tamaki asked her if demons can love.

Renge: But I think that was the last of me. And I didn't even show up!

Fuyumi: I'm out too. What an expository appearance.

Haruhi: What a men's club.

**AN:** Well, what can I say - It's a man, man, man's world, in the wonderful world of yaoi. I'm so sorry about the delay, there were planes and real life and lions and tigers oh my... This was a pretty hard chapter to write. (Be honest, was it awkward?) I'm on it though, I'm all over it, I'm writing and we're so close now!

Tamaki: Next time, Ch. 20. Tamaki Gets the Upper Hand! Oh _ho_!

Kyoya: That's a very intriguing notion, in its own way.


	19. Tamaki Gets the Upper Hand!

___Disclaimer: I do not own Ouran High School Host Club, or any other referenced animes._

_____Warning: You know what's coming. Here thar be mansex. If you don't want to read that, then now is the time to walk the plank._

* * *

**Ch. 19: Tamaki Gets the Upper Hand!**

"Ky- Kyoya!" _Thump._

Kyoya looked down at the sprawled prince, where he lay on the ground after having fallen off the piano bench in surprise.

"Yes." He gave the unnecessary reply anyway.

Tamaki scampered up to a sitting position, dusting himself off vigorously, despite the fact that the maids were too well-trained to leave a speck of dust on the floor. "You're back," he said wonderingly, as he grasped for Kyoya's hands to physically confirm his presence. "But I thought..."

"No."

"No?"

"Without you, I pace the halls and climb the walls. I'm lost. I need you as much as you need me, Tamaki." Glasses glinted in the light as words came readily from behind the mask. _  
_

Something about the assumption struck the wrong nerve. The feeling of being left behind wasn't so easily banished, and Kyoya had walked away from Tamaki twice already. "What makes you think I need you?"

Kyoya took a deep breath, hoping he hadn't erred. "Well, I was hoping you did. Our contract didn't actually end, you know. I lied about that. All that would have happened was that I would have paid the price after you died without my having taken your soul, but you would have been free."

"So you thought you'd come back to continue our deal, when all that's left is for you to take my soul?" Tamaki looked mildly offended. "Tell me, Kyoya. Were you going to keep me for yourself, or sell me for parts?"

Kyoya's mouth opened and closed without any words coming out. _No, no no no._ It was true that he had simply converted each soul he had taken up till now into energy, then brokered it to other demons, steadily building his power, but that just didn't apply to Tamaki. "I - you-"

At some point, Tamaki had crawled back onto the bench, where he pleaded with all his might into the solemn eyes of a demon whose face gave nothing away. Regardless, he still trusted his friend. Enough to make his offer. "Haruhi - she taught me that I have to be willing to offer everything before asking for the same from someone. Tell me, am I enough?"

"Because I want it _all_, Kyoya. I want everything that you are." He was almost feverish, grasping Kyoya's shoulders in his urgency. "I want to increase the stakes - you can have me, body and mind, heart and soul, despite walking out on our contract, if you want. If your coming back means what I think it does, and you're not here just to be friends, or to help me win Haruhi, but to find _me_. That's my new wish."

Tamaki held his breath as Kyoya leaned forward the few inches separating them, pressing a hard, desperate kiss against his lips, telling him without words that he was everything he wanted, more than life, more than power, more than air. Never let it be said that Kyoya Ootori had failed to capitalize on a beneficial situation. For good measure, he made sure to reply as their lips parted, breathing a quick, "Yes, you are more- more than enough and I - accept," before reattaching himself onto the blond, fingers running under the hem of his shirt and grasping eagerly at skin that was suddenly slipping away, moving beyond his grasp as Tamaki stood, a bit less smoothly than he would have liked, before extending a hand to Kyoya.

Taking it without any hesitation, he let Tamaki pull him towards him until they stood chest to chest, fingers intertwined and breathing the same air.

"Take us home," Tamaki demanded softly, and Kyoya was only too glad to comply, allowing his familiar bedroom at the Suoh's second mansion to flood in around them.

He pressed forward, causing Tamaki's knees to give out behind him as he hit the edge of the bed, landing them both on a softer surface than there would have been inside the music room. What started as a slightly slower kiss rapidly grew more heated, Tamaki beginning to lose coherent thought as Kyoya descended from his lips and refocused his attention on his throat, while his hands continued unfastening and sliding his pants down his legs.

"N-no," he gasped, guiding Kyoya away and rising, pushing him against the mattress, a knee resting against his thigh express his intentions. "When I said all of you, I meant it. You walked out on me last time, and I won't give you the opportunity to do it this time." He plucked the extraneous glasses from his face, and lightly stroked Kyoya's skin, moving down and working the shirt over his head.

Lowering himself onto his elbows above his fellow host, he promised softly, "If it's going to be worth my soul, then I'm going to have to take you for all you've got. The moment you stepped into this room, you became mine, exclusively. So show me the commitment that's worth my eternity, _demon_, and I will repay you ten, no, a thousand-fold. Because I love you, and I don't know if someone like you can even experience such a human failing; a weakness tremendous enough to make me give up my only scrap of immortality."

Kyoya growled, resting his hands on Tamaki's hips. "Of course I can, you melodramatic idiot. Why else would I be here? If that is what it means to be human, than I am as human as you are."

Tamaki gave him a bright smile, at once victorious and anticipatory. He caressed Kyoya's face, drawing a line from the high arch of his cheekbones to his lips. "Then show me, mon amour, what my foolishness has bought me."

Kyoya arched up involuntarily in response to those words, pressing flesh to flesh and causing the head of his cock to brush past Tamaki's and against his groin. He practically ripped off the remaining underwear, grasping upwards and reaching behind Tamaki, stroking him from behind until the blond reacted by pinning his wrists against the bed to stop his motion.

"I'm not playing, demon. The stakes are too high, and I - ugh," he shook blond hair out of his eyes. " -Need you -" he panted, his own legs against Kyoya's while his fingers pressed into his flesh. "- Love you -"

Kyoya purred encouragingly, but Tamaki wanted to see him undone. They were both fully undressed by now and Tamaki reached between his legs, stroking him as he licked his way down that delectable body.

He rubbed his fingertip lightly against the Kyoya's back entrance, parting the flesh and beginning to explore in earnest. As Kyoya gasped and moaned, slowly relinquishing control, Tamaki moved with more urgency, his fingers growing bolder and more aggressive, venturing inside of Kyoya, flicking slightly deeper with each attempt. Deeper and longer strokes, until he had two digits in, stroking upwards against his inner walls as he brought his tongue back inside of Kyoya's mouth, filling all his senses with his presence.

He pushed him down and spread him, Kyoya offering no more than token resistance before allowing him to spear him on the spot, folded across his bed like an offering. This was the simplest way to show his acceptance, and he embraced it wholeheartedly, crying out inarticulately as Tamaki entered him, and began steadily fucking him until each stroke of his cock made him push back harder, asking for more.

"Promise me, Kyoya. Stay with me - my whole life, stay by my side. Don't ever leave me again." Tamaki couldn't stop moving his mouth over every inch of Kyoya that he could reach, seeking to meld himself into his lover, mindlessly thrusting as though that would make them one.

Those hot little whimpers pressed against his throat as Kyoya replied, "No, no, I won't," ankles against his shoulders as they became affirmative mutters of "yes, never, yes," were nearly enough to undo Tamaki, even as he steadily drove deep inside the demon, the tightness closing in around him and trapping his mind in a vise, until he felt incapable of thinking of anything but his dark-haired lover moaning beneath him, no pretenses between them.

It was a jumbled message, but they understood. Ownership, surrender, mutual, in the moment and a reforged contract, just between the two of them.

Something about Kyoya's flickering gaze as he fought to maintain eye contact while he drowned beneath the sensation of the wet cock sliding in and out of him was inciting Tamaki to _ride;_ harder, faster, until it felt like each groan was being ripped from Kyoya's throat as he was assaulted by the pleasure, overwhelmed with sensation.

It was humbling, seeing this immensely powerful demon submit to his touch, voluntarily spreading his legs wider to take in more of him. His fist slid over Kyoya's shaft and head, moving at the same rhythm even as he leaned forward and tightened his grip, causing the body beneath him to tense even further in response. Tamaki found himself nearly overwhelmed by the wonder that swelled in him, and tilted his dark lover's head back in order to catch him in a deep kiss that flowed artlessly between them, sweet and heavy and wet.

Pleasure, unbearable and white hot, spread at the base of his spine, throbbing insistently at his core and rippling outward. His gray eyes deepened in intensity, catching and trapping his lover in shared ecstasy, and still Tamaki thrust above him, faster and harder until each individual stroke was lost in the wash of sensation that completely obliterated his ability to think, or restrain those gasps that said, "Tamaki, Tamaki, _nngh,_" until his mouth simply refused to close and his mind steamed over.

Whiteness blossomed within both of them, caught in a moment of absolute stillness, frozen at the apex of bliss, before everything came roaring down around them, and Tamaki felt like he was falling, falling into the other, pulsating with the intensity of cresting as he caught glimpses of Kyoya as he cried out, shooting his release over his chest to form an image that was so incredibly wanton that Tamaki shuddered against another spasm as he spilled his release deep into his lover.

They shared their next moments in silence, panting in the aftermath until their heart rates slowed, and Tamaki opened his eyes to find himself resting on his elbows, less than an inch away from Kyoya, resting forehead to forehead. They looked at each other, sharing a light, affectionate kiss before Tamaki rolled to the side, allowing the air to drift over their heated bodies. Kyoya picked the closest random article of clothing and wiped them both off, then scooted closer to a euphoric and dazed looking Tamaki, giving him a wry grin at the mess they had made.

As they cooled off, Tamaki pulled Kyoya closer, relishing the feeling of bare skin against skin, and listened to the deepening breaths of his demon-turned-lover. If he'd been asked to make a wish now, it would have been impossible to think of one.

He looked down to where Kyoya lay draped haphazardly across his chest, damp tendrils radiating from his crown. His hand drifted over the dark hair, stroking him as he sprawled drowsily. This contract would last for a lifetime, and Tamaki would make sure that every single day of it was fully experienced. That was the promise, after all.

"Hey, Kyoya?" The words were barely audible, but Kyoya's ear was pressed against his chest.

"Mmm?" A barely conscious reply.

"Can you get the lights?" Tamaki asked, not wanting to move away from their comfortable position.

The lights went out without either of them stirring, and all that could be heard was the soft, slow breathing of two sated boys, languid in the post-coital haze.

As his eyelids grew heavier and he began to sink into dreams that were very much like reality, Tamaki only had time for one, last thought.

_'Til__ death, my Kyoya._

* * *

OMAKE

Tamaki: *dramatic arm gesture* _René Tamaki Richard de Grantaine __commands you_...

Kyoya: Hm. You have purple eyes too.

Tamaki: o_(V) What? I mean..._ call me king!__  
_

Everyone: Yes, your Highness!

**AN:** Climax achieved! (lol) Time for the dénouement! I love happy couple time, don't you? Not much remains in this tale of love in the time of high school hosts, which means you should totally review.

Kyoya: Against my advice, the author will put up a bonus chapter next before the conclusion.

Renge: How disorganized! This writer sure doesn't know what's going on. Next Chapter: Kyoya Has the Last Word! But the title is pretty misleading...

Kyoya: *adjusts glasses* I always do.


	20. Kyoya has the Last Word!

_Disclaimer: I do not own Ouran High School Host Club, or any other referenced animes._

* * *

**Ch. 20: Kyoya has the Last Word!**

- - -_Suoh Mansion #2_- - -

As the next day dawned and the sun crept across the sky, light failed to stream into the windows of Kyoya's bedroom, blocked by blackout shades. This was a deliberate choice on the part of the Shadow King, and a very good one, as well. It delayed Tamaki's waking by a few hours, making it just a few hours before noon when he stirred, eyes flying wide as the memories of last night hit him.

He froze in place, exulting in silent glee and indulging in mad facial expressions before calming enough to attempt to wake his demonic friend. And lover. Of course, the primary characteristic that concerned Tamaki when it came to waking him was the "demonic" part, and right now, it applied more to his temperament than his nature.

"Kyoya," he breathed softly. "Kyo-"

The naked man sprawled across him stirred, shifting forward and bringing his head closer to Tamaki's shoulder. It was surprisingly adorable, and Tamaki's (by now) finely honed moe senses pinpointed a new, substantial source.

Nuzzling the top of that dark head, he tried again.

"Kyoya?"

He was favored with a bleary effort to look at him, along with - a slight smile? No aura, no murderous intent, and no grumbling? Love really did conquer all.

He squealed a little in joy and wrapped himself around Kyoya, hugging him tightly in delight.

There was a growl as a pillow smacked squarely over his face, and Kyoya abandoned him for a cool pillow that didn't squeeze him. Some things just didn't change, but that wasn't enough to wipe the goofy grin off of the host king's face.

Knowing no boundaries when it came to what was confirmed as of last night as his favorite person/being/entity in the universe, he stretched before turning back towards Kyoya, and trailing his hand lightly along his lover's spine.

The next thing he knew, there was a purple, glaring, evil demon on top of him, who was soon sucking on his exposed skin, biting gently against his nipples and stroking below until he was begging for mercy.

Today, Tamaki had learned why Kyoya did not enjoy being dragged out of bed by a crowd of teenagers in the morning. The demon woke up _hungry_.

- - -_Music Room #3_- - -

If they hadn't known already, they would know by now, since all their usual clients had failed to show up today, having overheated over the course of the day. Tamaki had absolutely no notion of what was considered an acceptable public display of affection, though again, by now, he should have learned, through the joint efforts of his father, the teachers, and Kyoya himself.

But they had known since the night before, each of them receiving highly suspicious missives from Renge herself, notifying them of a burgeoning boy's love between their two highest ranking members of the Host Club. And they had planned accordingly, after checking in with Haruhi.

She was the one who had suggested that they make their little party private, after what had happened during her own little announcement with Tamaki. So as soon as the guests of honor walked through the double doors, the rest of the host club, who had gotten there early, locked the doors behind them, causing the newly-minted couple to whirl around suspiciously, like they were about to get jumped in an alleyway. Which wasn't too far from the truth.

They let Haruhi take the lead.

"We're so happy for you," she said warmly, not a trace of regret in her voice. Even Mori felt like applauding at her extraordinary bravado.

"Yeah!" The twins triggered the confetti, Honey brought out the cake, and normalcy ensued.

"There's marbled cheesecake, key lime, chocolate mousse, strawberry ice cream cake, vanilla cinnamon rum cake..." The list began taking a turn for the strange as Honey continued. "Pistachio mandarin orange cake, mint and mango layered cake, and white chocolate with cherries and gummy bears..."

They stopped listening, with the exception of Kyoya, who leaned down genially at the beaming sweet tooth incarnate, and said, very pleasantly, "So they put you in charge of the sweets? That's never happening again."

Honey quailed and dove into a nearby cake to assuage his sadness. No one stopped him.

"And here are our drinks!" The twins gestured proudly at two bowls, one pink, and one yellow. Each of them were already sipping on a cup of each color, pressing additional cups into Tamaki and Kyoya's hands.

Tamaki took a sip from his cup, which happened to be yellow. He sputtered. "This is alcoholic!"

"Aren't we all underage?" Haruhi pointed out.

Hikaru shrugged. "We're rich; those kind of rules don't apply to us."

"_Hikaru!"_ Tamaki hissed, about to launch into another diatribe.

"Here." Mori handed Haruhi a glass with some sort of chilled concoction in it. "You like strawberries, right? Try it." He even added a tiny umbrella to sweeten the offering.

"Yeah, we made the daiquiri just for you," Hikaru added. "I prefer margaritas." He sipped, just to emphasize his point.

An hour later, everyone's tongues had loosened, and even Nekozawa had joined the party (no one had remembered to lock that door). Upon his drunken pronouncement, complete with pointing, that Kyoya was a demon, everyone simply lost it.

"We knew it!" Kaoru snorted while Hikaru did some more pointing. "We've known all along."

"Yeah, no one but a demon would take away my cake!"

"Ah."

_Incubus,_ Haruhi thought, but she decided to be tactful for once.

Since it was clear that no one would be taking his entirely true pronouncements seriously, Nekozawa skulked off in the midst of the revelry.

Tamaki was constantly doing silly things like kissing Kyoya's shoulder, and putting his head in his lap without warning, but much to everyone's surprise, Kyoya didn't crush the boy into next week. Of course, they also noticed how both of them sat down a little gingerly, and seemed a little bit... impatient to be alone, even after obviously having consummated their new relationship.

Kyoya, with his highly attuned hearing, had no problems eavesdropping on the following conversation, when a certain question caught his attention.

"So Tamaki's not a virgin anymore?" Honey piped up eagerly from their little powwow in the corner.

"Nope!" The twins chorused.

"So that's why he can't sit?" Honey continued his line of questioning, since he was the least afraid of the demon, having lost all he could lose: cake.

"Yeah." Mori contributed.

"But then, why," Haruhi said thoughtfully, "can't Kyoya sit either?"

"Because," Kaoru began, "when you're gay -" _to lose your virginity-_

"You have to do it twice!" Hikaru high-fived his twin as they cackled in glee.

Haruhi's blank expression told them very clearly that she had no idea what they were talking about.

Kyoya's brow ticked. He looked at Tamaki, who clearly hadn't noticed a thing, because he was tipsily and dreamily staring at his lover. He looked back at the group, who suddenly realized that the Shadow King had heard everything.

And then the party ended.

- - -_Post-Graduation_- - -

Things weren't quite the same, after they left Ouran, but the mark that the Host Club had left on those key developmental years followed them all through adulthood, and the bond they shared kept them close.

No longer needing the pretense of debt and ladies to keep them together, they would fly to visit each other regularly; a case in which their immense wealth came in handy.

When Haruhi became a Nouzuka and Honey was best man, Tamaki had simply muttered something about Mori being kind of like a rock, which Kyoya dismissed, the same way he dismissed the more useless prattlings that came out of his beloved mate.

And when marriage certificates began to become available for everyone, Tamaki had spouted something about love love and dragged Kyoya off to the nearest altar to make it official, then retroactively planned the largest, most incredibly over-bedecked gala ever.

Kyoya still thought that it should have been enough to kill him, regardless of being rather difficult to kill. Privately, though, he felt sorry for the twins, who were forever stuck in their illicit love affair, without being able to announce it to the world, the way he would soon murder Tamaki for doing. As a result, he became rather close to the Hitachiins, and would visit them regularly with Tamaki in tow.

And Tamaki had in Kyoya the ultimate customer, for whom his mere existence brought joy, and whose heart he could warm with a single smile. And as time went on, he ceased, or perhaps simply forgot to doubt that Kyoya could ever have simply taken his soul and moved on with his incomprehensibly long life. They continued to work as a formidable tag team of spontaneity and strategy, the perfect complement of skills. His whims and good nature drove them on a variety of missions, not only contributing to the happiness in their own lives, but to those surrounding them, making the Suoh/Ootori company one of the most respected in Japan, with substantial branches in France and America (headed by Haruhi).

And Kyoya gained, through Tamaki, a whole berth of new experiences. He visited not only all of modern Japan, but eventually most of the developed world, and some of the developing nations as well. Though he didn't show it quite like the blond, sometimes his glasses would glint and he would offer solutions to the less fortunate in that modulated voice of his, actions that would betray his sympathetic nature. And he thought, as time marched onward and Tamaki grew old and gray, and his time on this earth grew shorter, that this was perhaps the best deal he had ever made, whether it was measured by balance, or by gain.

Indeed, through Tamaki he had gained a whole new world, as Tamaki would also, when the time came.

* * *

OMAKE

**AN: **What do you think? Is this chapter a good addition? Oops, they actually _married. _I'm so sorry, it just _happened_. There just wasn't anything stopping them, since Tamaki was already the Suoh heir and all. This whole chapter wasn't even in my outline...

spinninground: Stay tuned for the final update: Ch. 21 And so, the Endless Waltz!

Tamaki & Kyoya: *weaving drunkenly* The Ouran Host Club will always be waiting for you!

Twins, Mori, Honey, Haruhi: KANPAI!


	21. And so, the Endless Waltz!

_Disclaimer: I do not own Ouran High School Host Club, or any other referenced animes._

_Warning: some sexual feelin'  
_

* * *

**Ch. 21: And so, the Endless Waltz!**

"Am I dead?"

"Yes, Tamaki."

"Wow! Being dead feels much better than being alive..."

"That's because you lived to a ripe old age and died in your bed, just moments ago. You're not old anymore." He indicated a mirror on the wall.

Tamaki zipped over to the antique mirror. "Oh..." He said in wonder, hand reaching towards the glass. "I haven't seen myself like this since..."

"Stop getting entranced by yourself, idiot, and come back over here." Kyoya looked amused at the reluctance with which Tamaki tore himself away from his reflection.

His human wrapped his arms around him and nuzzled him adoringly. "But why, Kyoya - why have I reverted to this age?"

"Emotional maturity."

Kyoya's dark chuckle rang out as Tamaki began to pout, prompting him to quickly revise his statement before the puppy eyes made an appearance. "No, no, Tamaki. You revert to the person you are deep within. In your heart, you never stopped being the White Prince of your Host days, seeking to infuse beauty and happiness into the lives of those around you."

He looked deeply into those violet eyes, just as lustrous as the first time they met. "You're still the Prince I fell in love with - the only one who could tame a demon to your hand."

Sheepishly raising his hand to touch his hair, Tamaki confessed, "Well, I wasn't really sure that you wouldn't just absorb my soul and be done with it, after all the trouble I've caused you. I mean, I'd hoped, but..."

"Wait, Kyoya, why are you looking at me like that?" He studied the smug demon. "Are you going to eat me now?"

"Yes." And he leaned in for a long, deep kiss, pulling Tamaki in by the small of his back before relinquishing the human, leaving them both a bit breathless.

Tamaki tried again. "But not literally, righ- mmf"

Having his words cut off by another kiss from Kyoya was nothing that Tamaki would argue with.

. . .

"Do you like it?" Kyoya had just finished giving Tamaki the tour, and he was honestly a little concerned about how well Tamaki would take the transition.

But Tamaki was peering at the random assortment of demon fruit. He opened his mouth to bite down, then paused. "Wait, can I eat this?" He looked doubtful.

"Not if you were still mortal, but you should be okay now. That one's sort of dry, but sweet."

Wide violet eyes gazed at him skeptically. "Sure I won't become a rubber man or something? Or acquire some sort of stupid weakness?"

"No, not much affects the dead." Kyoya replied, wryly.

"Too bad, I could have used some ninja skills." He bit in, peeling the soft skin around it as he went.

_At least he's curious by nature,_ Kyoya thought, while admiring his beautiful beloved.

"So what am I supposed to do now?" Tamaki wondered, at loose ends for the first time in a lifetime.

"Love me?"

"_Host."_

"You should talk."

The idiot blond continued crunching along. "How about I run around as a demon's sidekick, charming women with my extensive expertise while collecting souls?"

"Perhaps not," Kyoya countered sardonically, "though it's possible. Besides, I've already fallen for your charms and don't plan on giving them up."

Tamaki sparkled at him a little, but it was positively restrained compared to his Host days. "Good, because I have nowhere to go if you do..."

"Ah.." Kyoya frowned. "I'm sorry, Tamaki. It was never my intention to trap you like this. But just say the word, and I can release you..."

Tamaki shook his head adamantly. "Never. I've told you a thousand times, this is my choice. I want to be with you for as long as I can. I'm just lucky that it's a good bit longer than most people get. Though it does seem kind of unfair that you can kill me, but I can't kill you."

Stating it as a fact, Kyoya reached up to adjust glasses that were no longer present, leaving his downcast gaze visible to the blond before he raised it back up. "Tamaki, if you ever want to kill me, all you have to do is leave me." If he'd been told a lifetime ago what a sap he would become, he would have killed the messenger.

Tamaki melted a bit at that, even though he didn't know how true it was. Or perhaps he did. He wound his lover's arms around him, leaning back into the familiar embrace. "Mmm," he murmured as he pressed his lips against his jaw, "I don't think I will. I kind of like the Kyoya I've gotten to know, so I'll stick around for now."

Breathing Tamaki's scent in deeply and focusing on his warmth, he replied absently. "Well, all you have to do is look at me to know that I'm still the same person."

"And here I thought that I'd be able to take all your different forms for a test drive," Tamaki pouted playfully. "After all, you were my first love, and I don't want anyone else, so it's only fair, right?"

"Watch it," Kyoya warned, eyes dancing, "or I'll show you the basement, bind you in the darkness and come sip from your soul until it's gone." Even without the spectacles, his eyes seemed to glint.

Tamaki blanched, despite knowing he would always be safe. Kyoya's improving sense of humor still wasn't something to be trifled with, but he'd become more sly over the years as well. "And what will you do when I'm all gone?" he asked archly.

The demon pretended to consider. "I suppose I'll just have to wait a very long time between sips, to make you last." A devilish licking of the lips.

"But I'll just be missing bits of soul all the time!" Or maybe not.

"It'll grow back."

With that, Kyoya turned Tamaki around in his arms as the prince sputtered at the casual remark, trapping him lightly against him and kissing him until the breathless laughter turned into deepening anticipation.

Both pairs of hands wandered surely against the other, seeking out favorite spots and sensitive areas. For Tamaki, it was the area behind the ear and his upper neck, which Kyoya licked, breathing faintly across the same spot before sinking his mouth over it to truly taste his lover. Shivers made their way up to Tamaki's brain, and he reclaimed those lips to enjoy that warm wetness again, drawing it out until they began to lack oxygen, in that way that caused his lover to look dazed and delicious. With each exchange of breath, the fire that simmered between them flickered to the surface, licking at their consciousness and causing the physical contact to spark and burn.

Clothing was discarded with abandon, lying across dining chairs and falling to the ground, both moving with complete disregard for the lumps of fabric.

Kyoya's arms bore Tamaki up onto the table, where he leaned on the edge, naked and unabashed, provocatively displayed. Wet kisses trailed down his chest and down to his navel, golden down turning into curls against Kyoya's lips, and away again as he reverently made his way to the tip of his lover's erection, caressing it with his tongue and eventually his throat.

Tamaki's long fingers twined through his hair, drawing him back, pressing against his cheek and slipping into his mouth, wet and slick as Kyoya sucked on them until he removed them, raising himself on the edge of the table and slipping those fingers into himself, watching Kyoya as his mouth parted slightly in reaction.

The demon ran his nails against the insides of Tamaki's thighs as he rocked back against his own fingers, pulling the blond close as he stood, the blood rushing southward so forcefully that his cock almost brushed the base of his belly. Tamaki turned half-lidded eyes on him when he firmly tugged his arms back, forcing those fingers out and leaning him back as he positioned himself at the entrance, brushing and nudging teasingly before entering as slowly as possible, inch by inch.

Once the demon was fully inside, Tamaki leveraged himself up and twined his arms around Kyoya, catching him in another kiss, wiggling slightly against him and rubbing his own erection against his lover. With every motion that Kyoya made, it would slide between them, pressed between their heated bodies and causing him to writhe a bit more.

Tamaki's breaths came hard against Kyoya's neck, his tongue occasionally emerging from his open mouth to lick and sample his lover's skin, nipping lightly and eliciting soft groans. He could feel Kyoya pressing a kiss against his head, a sweet gesture of affection, even with his cock buried deep within his lover.

"Harder," he exhaled against his ear, urgently. "You don't - have to be careful anymore," he panted. "So fuck me ha-" He caught his breath as Kyoya slammed into him, "-a_ah_," he articulated, the second syllable coming practically knocked out of him by the impact. Blond locks swung forward as he wrapped his arms tighter around Kyoya's neck, arching his back to meld their torsos together.

He didn't want so much as a breath of air between them, just skin to skin, slick and hard. What he needed was _this,_ more than oxygen, more than life, firm hands stabilizing him and holding him in place, and that wonderful friction below where Kyoya was still pounding into him, causing him to gasp and moan and shudder until he hung limply against his lover, pressing kisses against damp, salty skin.

All the while, hands moved against his back, as Kyoya drew him up and sunk his teeth into his shoulder, always conscious of exactly how much pain was acceptable to his prince, then relinquishing the flesh to cry out as the release rolled over him, causing Tamaki to follow soon after, and bracing them both against the table against the accompanying weakness.

Carefully, Kyoya drew out, spilling onto the floor and helping Tamaki down before half-accidentally seating himself in a nearby chair and causing Tamaki to land in his lap. The laughing blond simply wrapped himself around Kyoya and leaned down, nudging that dark head of hair with his own skull.

"Ah, mon ami," he giggled softly.

"That was on purpose."

"Mmm."

. . .

After that, Kyoya had managed to have sex with Tamaki in a few more rooms before the blond caught on to what was happening, and convinced Kyoya to be a little less ambitious.

It wasn't really his fault that he hadn't caught on more quickly; the demon could be rather persuasive. Under the pretext of finding a bed, Kyoya had led his mate into the next room before making advances on him again, nibbling on his ear and giving him such a blatant invitation that Tamaki eagerly partook before he saw anything strange about only walking a few paces before it happened again. And then he started to wonder why they even bothered to get dressed afterwards.

The servants, of course, made themselves scarce. Tamaki was certain that it was one of the demon's immutable traits that he didn't suffer idiots gladly, which also functioned as the highest proof that no matter what Kyoya said, he didn't think the blond was an idiot.

The time after, Kyoya hadn't even bothered letting him get dressed, but simply fucked him from one room to the next, causing the most unsubtle ruckus to ring out into the hallways. But they had grown accustomed to discreet servants and unlimited means, and indulged with abandon in their new home.

They were lying on top of each other on a lounge at the moment, Kyoya twining Tamaki's hair around his finger as though he was contemplating another round, if only he could get his lover to the next room first.

"I know what you're trying to do," Tamaki said, amused. "but I don't think we can christen this house in one day."

Kyoya sighed, but without any real regret. "No?"

Tamaki laughed and kissed him. "It's taken us a few days all the other times too. Even when we were this young."

"It wouldn't be a problem if you chose more... modest dwelling places, you know." Fingers stilled in his hair as he shifted, settling more comfortably against Tamaki.

"You can't blame me for this one," Tamaki pointed out.

Before Kyoya could concede the point, a polite voice came from behind a tactfully closed door that neither of them had actually touched, aside from the time when Kyoya had pressed Tamaki into it and past it, and into the couch.

At the suggestion of refreshment, Kyoya pried himself away from Tamaki and retrieved the proffered tray, all the while hiding his lower half behind the door. It wasn't exactly modest, but there was no hiding what they had been up to, and Kyoya's staff was truly thoughtful when it came to the needs of their master: currently, the need for hydration after multiple rounds of sex.

Tamaki, too was thoughtful as he sipped. "Highness, huh? So you really are the Shadow King?"

"You knew they called me that?" The demon sounded amused. He didn't say anything for a few moments, settling back in beside Tamaki and gathering the blond against him.

He brushed a few stray hairs from Tamaki's face as he studied it with somber gray eyes. His idiot prince, who had turned out to be the greatest gain that he could ever have sought, who was watching him with love in his steady violet gaze. Who had, despite his reputation for being fickle, had been the most constant and understanding companion anyone could ask for.

But then again, Tamaki did have a short attention span, and they had all of eternity.

"No," Kyoya replied. "I'm really the third son of the Shadow King.

"Want to help me win control of the realm?"

* * *

_And Tama-chan and Kyo-chan reigned happily after ever, after they overthrew the existing regime and captured Kyoya's older brothers. They may even have had a whole brood of children, depending on how demon/soul reproduction works. _

OMAKE

dead!Tamaki: We sure have come a long way.

demon!Kyoya: Speak for yourself.

**AN:** I hope you enjoyed your time here at _OHSHC: The Demon Awakens_! I've cleaned up my chapters so that there isn't as much stuff at the bottom :), but for those of you who previously reviewed, I will love you forever.

For those of you stopping by after completion, let me know how it was! (I know there are a couple chapters I'm tempted to delete, for pacing.) This fic was always meant to be read as a whole, but alas, they don't get written that way.

Honey: Goodbye, Fanfiction reading people!

Mori: Bye.

Hikaru: Waah, that story was such a tearjerker!

Haruhi: You've got to be kidding me.

Kaoru: Now who's a crybaby?


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